THIS IS JANICE WILSON

“My friend James discovered these old photo albums on a market stall in East London. Each one is meticulously laid out with photographs spanning the lifetime of a woman with Down Syndrome. Her father, a keen amateur photographer, methodically shot hundreds of portraits of his daughter and wife. Evidently the family’s favorite pastime was to get dressed up and pose for the camera in the garden or by the seaside. You see images of girl (who I’m guessing was born in the 60s) become a grown woman. Then you watch her condition gradually deteriorate until it cuts off sometime in the 90s. This photo-biography might sound a tad melancholy, but it’s actually the opposite, in no small part thanks to her awesome wardrobe.”

Janice Wilson, eine Frau mit Down-Syndrom als Model für skurile Kleidung. Gleiche Pose, Jahr für Jahr. Befangen und beeindruckend zugleich, auf jeden Fall ungewöhnlich wirken die Fotos auf den Betrachter, zu stark dominieren unsere Sehgewohnheiten. Doch schaut genauer hin, dann erkennt ihr wie viel Freude Fotografie bereiten kann.

Besondere Kleidung, besondere Menschen, eine Modestrecke der anderen Art.