It's 3:00 a.m. No way to sleep. Imaginary bedbugs chewing at me. The air is oppressive, like being buried alive. The cries of asthmatic children sniffling, screaming, sleep-talking keeps me on edge. In semi-darkness I wander among the beds, seeing mothers wrapped around their babies, like bears in hibernation. In one lower bunk, I find an exhausted mother, Pam, rocking her wailing week-old daughter. Pams face glows with inner peace. She is one of the lucky ones. She escaped an abusive relationship and found shelter here. Olive Branch Mission, Chicago.
Donna Ferrato
1999
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet: 40.5 × 50.5 cm (15 15/16 × 19 7/8 in.) image: 33 × 49.1 cm (13 × 19 5/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Donna Ferrato)
Accession Number
2015.19.5139