Artist Lecture Series

TSC Visiting Artist Lecture Series proudly presents

Daryl Oh

December 12, 2024 ~ 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Boyd TCRM & Virtual

Daryl Oh is a black-and-white film photographer who explores themes of identity, heritage, and community storytelling. Her recent project, Hands of Trinidad, documents the lives and histories of Trinidad’s residents through portraits and hand images, creating a dialogue between past and present. Funded by The Sharon Prize 2024 and in collaboration with the Trinidad History Museum and History Colorado, this project invites viewers to engage with the continuity of community history.

Website and Social Media Links:

• Website: www.daryloh.com
• Instagram: @daryloh
• Work: www.daryloh.com/hands-of-trinidad/

"Hands of Trinidad" began by accident — much like my journey to this town. A misread Craigslist ad led me to Trinidad, a kind of pilgrimage that brought me to a community on the verge of transformation. Inspired by the historic "Faces of Trinidad" project by The Aultman Photography Studio, I set up a pop-up portrait studio on Main Street, capturing the town’s present with the same honesty as those photographs of the past.

The portraits I created — faces paired with hands — are an ongoing dialogue between history and now, reflecting the essence of this small, resilient town. Each photograph is unretouched, preserving the imperfections that make each moment real. The lines in each subject's hands tell the story of their work, their contributions, and their histories. These are stories not just captured but honored, shared like an oral history, and laid bare in the ritual of portraiture.

This collection, funded by The Sharon Prize 2024, brings together my contemporary images with historic ones from The Aultman Archive, thanks to the collaboration with the Trinidad History Museum and History Colorado. Displayed side-by-side, these images let us witness the continuity of our shared story. They create a living archive that blurs the boundary between past and present—inviting us to remember what has come before while embracing what is now.

For me, photographs are artifacts of a moment — a moment made real when it is observed. This project is an invitation to you, the viewer, to see, to remember, and to take part in this community’s history. As I watch these photographs bring people back to the moment they were taken, I’m reminded again of the power of observation. This is now.

— Daryl Oh, Artist