Mistletoe, from the My Father series

Description

In this series, Angela West returns to her home in Dahlonega, Georgia, to explore her roots and relationship with her father. In carefully staged and wryly humorous scenes, she presents her father as he goes about his daily rituals. She photographs him at a distance, portraying him as a stranger. Here, the odd tension between his elegant attire and somewhat threatening pose with a gun aimed skyward is dispelled by the title—he is shooting down a sprig of mistletoe for the holidays. West’s work suggests that a study of the most familiar things can offer new insight into both the subject and its relationship to the self.