Ken. To be destroyed

Description

Soon after Ken and Hazel married, in 1954, it emerged that Ken was transgender. In 2011, artist Sara Davidmann and her siblings inherited a family archive containing letters, photographs and papers, which tell the story of Ken and Hazel. Moving and sometimes painful, it is a narrative of family secrets and discoveries.

In response to the letters and family photographs, Sara has produced a new set of photographs using analogue, alternative and digital processes.

From the raw material of the archive, to her recent photographic works, a fascinating story emerges.

A remarkable and beautifully made book revealing the previously unseen contents of a tatty brown envelope, a silent archive discovered after the death of a close family member. Ken. To be destroyed is a testament to a brave couple who lived through a nightmare created in part by the damning rules of a deeply conservative and unforgiving society, a provocative memorial. Sara Davidmann has woven a truly moving tale through the embellishment and reworking of what was a secret family archive – this is an important artistic work with political impact. Anna Fox