“Jennifer’s Family” – an intimate view
In Jennifer’s Family (Schilt Publishing, 2012), Louisa Marie Summer shares her experience with Jennifer, a young second-generation Puerto Rican woman, whom she met one day in South Providence, R.I. Jennifer lives with her partner and their four children at or near the lower end of the socio-economic ladder. Theirs is an urban neighborhood with large African-American and Hispanic populations and high unemployment and crime rates, where many families live well below the poverty line. Over time, Louisa Marie developed a close relationship with the family based on mutual understanding, respect and trust. The resulting photographs provide an intimate view into the daily life of Jennifer’s family. They illustrate how a 26-year-old mother, in spite of difficult living conditions, poverty and illness, manages to remain optimistic while caring for her loved ones.
Louisa Marie Summer is a socially-concerned, visual storyteller living in New York and working worldwide photo design in Munich, Germany and has a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been featured internationally in various magazines and publications, including Rolling Stone, Vogue Business, Süddeutsche Zeitung, National Geographic, Greenpeace, Leica Fotografie International, Photoworld China, 6Mois, Dummy, Le journal de la Photographie, Eyemazing, among others. Louisa Marie’s work has received numerous awards including the Latin American Photography Award, Lens Culture International Exposure Award, and Mary Clerc Scholarship. Her photographs have been placed in museums and private collections such as the Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy Collection, and have been exhibited in several solo, national and international group shows.
Jennifer’s Family is available at Schilt Publishing. For signed copies please email Louisa Marie Summer at mail@louisasummer.com. All original essays and pictures are from the book Jennifer's Family by Louisa Marie Summer, texts by Mairéad Byrne (based on interviews from Mairéad Byrne and Louisa Maria Summer)
Pictures of Jennifer’s Family will be exhibited at Kunstverein Viernheim in Germany until July 31, 2016.
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