Melissa Chimera

As the artist conducted genealogical research, she frequently relied on photographs to connect stories across borders and time. Wedding photographs of her ancestors, captured as bride and groom, became a key source of information for Chimera. Wedding photographs and the few family pictures she could find contained names and dates inscribed on the photo cards, which helped the artist identify deceased family members. For that reason, Chimera used her own wedding gown and veil, and took up the trade of her Lebanese predecessors to hand-work bead, glass, text, and paper applications across the garments. Her great-grandfather’s signature, Eddie Ferris, scrolls across the back, and Arabic text copied from a 1900 photo caption inks the dress from top to bottom with her great-grandmother’s words and maiden name. It reads, “This is our family photo, Haneen Shibly Messrani.”