“Comfort Objects”
A comfort object is a toy or blanket that takes on emotional importance to a child. While I did not have one as a child, my three children have each had one. Like many parents I’ve hunted for it at bedtime, sent it along when leaving a child in another person’s care, and carefully packed it on trips.
In developmental psychology these objects are called “transitional objects”. As a child’s first possession, it plays an important role in psychological and social development. Comfort objects for me represent transitions between stages of childhood and the mourning and loss I experience as my children shed endearing habits and patterns associated with early childhood. It is also a vehicle for pondering the complex emotional world of childhood and the role physical objects play in meeting psychological needs.
Anna Ream uses photography to reflect on the personal and cultural connections between childhood, parenthood and family and to engage in the ongoing conversations about these subjects. She grew up in New Jersey and earned a B.A. from Wellesley College. In 2008 she began studying at Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle and graduated from their Certificate Program in June 2014. Anna lives in Issaquah, WA with her husband and three children. Her work has been exhibited in Seattle, Portland, New York and Vermont. She has been featured on websites internationally including Lenscratch, TODAY.com, The Daily Mail (U.K.), Huffington Post, Slate Behold, and Yahoo Parenting.
Exhibition prints are 20” x 30”.
