WEIRD BABES DIGEST ZINES
ISSUE 1 JESSE REED GRANDMOTHER
The matriarchal influence is a strong force in my world. Some might call me a “momma’s boy,” and it’s true, I am. Throughout my life I’ve always had two best friends who were female, genuinely the closest individuals I could share things with. This remained true through elementary, middle, and high school, on to college and now up until the current age of 29—I’ve come to understand this is to my benefit. I’m not gay, I’m not anti-men, but I feel personally strengthened by the female presence, noticeably more so than when with a group of archetypical males. I began photographing my grandmother, Freda, when I was in college and began pursuing photography as a more serious activity. Unlike most people, she simply ignored me even when a camera was right in her face. There was a time in particular that appeared as a rather normal situation, but produced some of my favorite images of Freda. We were grocery shopping at a Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh while my mother waited in the car. Freda was around 92 at the time, still feeling which bagels were soft enough to eat and buying enough butter to last months. Other shoppers gave me funny looks like “does she know you’re photographing her?” She did, and she didn’t care. Freda passed away at 95, and like many of my friends in their late 20s, we’re all going or will go through the same emotional process of letting this piece of our lives go. As a place to start processing and acknowledging our family members who indirectly gave us life, I’ve begun a project called “Grandmother.” These are images of what the name suggests. Not formal, unless they are. Not commissioned. A small collection that we can all find relatable in some way. The project is far from established, even started, but gathering a group of contributors takes time. This is the basic model.
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