Patty Carroll

In her Anonymous Women series, Patty Carroll explores the lives of women who hoard their dreams in their homes and become lost in the meanings attached to objects.  Drawing on her own identity crisis, Carroll began this series as an uprising against her career being overshadowed by the shifting balance of family and work when she moved from Chicago to London. The photographs depict snapshots from the oppressive world of women, often confined to the role of caretakers in the home and family surrounded by plaid curtains, patterned wallpapers, crystal vases, and shag carpet. Carroll creates a dark and humorous hide-and-seek scenario between the viewer and the anonymous woman by concealing the models within dense layers of clutter. Houses with wooden verandas symbolizing the American dream, luxury apartments from the ‘80’s, and fully furnished kitchen counters are among the settings she uses.