Sherrie Nickol - Chrysalis

The title Chrysalis reflects the nature of the work as a whole: photographs made at the earliest stage of a photographic practice, capturing young women at a moment of transformation and becoming. Nickol's ability to generate trust with her subjects gives the portraits an unguarded quality rare in work of this kind. All photographs are shot on film in natural light and presented with full black borders, connecting Nickol to an earlier generation of photographers. At a time when interest in analog photography continues to grow among collectors, institutions, and general audiences, Chrysalis arrives as both a significant rediscovered archive and a timely document of 1970s American life.