Alice Austen's story has always moved me deeply — a pioneering female photographer who lost everything in the Depression and was forced from her beloved home into a poorhouse. The rediscovery of her work late in her life feels like a bittersweet vindication that came too late, yet ensured her rightful place in photographic history.

In my work, I wanted to honor Alice's relationship with her female partner — the quiet, authentic life they built together at Clear Comfort. Alice lived her truth with a matter-of-fact confidence that paralleled her determination to pursue photography at a time when few women did.

The front-of-house images titled "The Moment of Capture 1" and "The Moment of Capture 2" are particularly meaningful to me. These photographs capture that split-second when the flash bulb explodes — a pivotal technological moment that Alice herself would have experienced hundreds if not thousands of times throughout her career. In these images, I wanted to freeze that ephemeral burst of light that makes photography possible, connecting us across time to Alice's own practice.

The final image, showing her lone return to her home before passing, haunts me the most. Her story reminds me how easily artistic legacies, especially women's, can be erased and the profound power of rediscovery. There's something deeply moving about her photographs being the very thing that ultimately rescued her from the poorhouse and secured her place in photographic history, though she had so little time left to witness this recognition.