Beginning in 2015, I went to several hundred estate sales in Dallas, Texas, where I live. In many parts of the US, people use estate sales to dispose of their parents’ possessions after they die or move to assisted living facilities. In addition to photographing at the sales themselves, I also bought many inexpensive items that I studied later with better lighting and backgrounds in my home studio.

Themes of memory and loss come forth in this work. The stark reality of life’s brevity pervades every estate sale, where children’s toys sit next to wheelchairs. Unique personal possessions tell the stories of people I never knew and could only wonder about. I also discovered knickknacks that offer fascinating commentaries on theculture and politics of the mid-twentieth century. Every weekend at just about every sale, I saw poignancy, irony, history, and humor.