The Photographer wearing photographic masks made from archival photographs of members of his family (maternal and paternal side).
Archive of family portraits and snapshots
Photographic masks were used again in this series, this time working with masks made from archive photographs of members of his family (on both his maternal and paternal sides). Most of these relatives had died many years previously. The masks were then worn by others, who by lending their identities to these people from the past, created the effect of them coming back to life in an almost ghostly, surreal way.
Wiener travelled with the masks to places where family members had lived many years ago. Through a process of collaboration he found participants to wear the masks or, in cases where he himself wore a mask, a friend to operate the camera.
Photography is about capturing a moment in time, but in these images the sense of time is diffused, capturing the time the original photograph of the subject was taken, capturing the moment of someone honouring a memory by wearing a mask, and showing a record of the location as it is today.
1. Augustine Foley (1897 – 1965) and Julia Foley (1867 – 1951). Goleen, Co. Cork, Ireland, 1901 / 2016
Julia raised her son Augustine in a Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Barracks.
2. Augustine Foley (1897 – 1965). Durrus, Co. Cork, Ireland, 1897 / 2016
Because he was the son of a RIC Officer, Augustine needed to leave Ireland as soon as he could.
3. Annie Macpherson (1874 - 1947). Richmond Upon Thames, England, 1880 / 2017
Annie Macpherson was brought up in England but felt she was a true Scot.
4. Hilda Eagleson (1900 – 1983) and Annie Eagleson née Macpherson (1874 – 1947). Bonnyrigg, Scotland, 1901 / 2018
When her daughter Hilda was born, Annie moved to Scotland.
5. Augustine Foley (1897 – 1965), and Hilda Eagleson (1900 – 1983). Cowdenbeath, Scotland, 1925 / 2017.
Hilda and Augustine fell for each other at the Ritz Dance Hall in Cowdenbeath.
6. Augustine Foley (1897 – 1965), Hilda Foley née Eagleson (1900 – 1983), and Sheila Foley (1929 - 2019). Gillingham, England, 1935 / 2017
Hilda and Augustine brought up their daughter Sheila in Gillingham in Kent. Shelia felt at home there.
7. Herbert Macpherson Jnr (1909 to 1987), Annie Eagleson née Macpherson (1874 – 1947), Hilda Foley née Eagleson (1900 – 1983), Sheila Foley (1929 - 2019), Winnie Macpherson(1910 – 1994), and Herbert Macpherson Snr (1876 - 1956). Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline, Scotland, 1939 / 2017
When war broke out Hilda took Sheila to Dunfermline, where the Macpherson side of the family lived.
8. Herbert Macpherson Jnr (1909 to 1987), and Herbert Macpherson Snr (1876 to 1956). High Street, Dunfermline, Scotland, 1939 / 2016
Herbert Snr and Herbert Jnr were well known in the town and ran Macpherson’s Bookshop in the High Street.
9. Winnie Macpherson, (1910 – 1994). Pitlochry, Scotland, 1955 / 2015
A dignified and well off lady, Winnie Macpherson had a second home in Pitlochry.
10. Herbert Macpherson Jnr (1909 to 1987). Dunfermline Cemetery, Dunfermline, Scotland. 1957 / 2016
Sometime before his father died, Herbert Jnr left the bookshop business. He wanted a different life.
11. Herman Trost (1870 - 1942). Lviv, Ukraine, 1890 / 2015
Lviv was once in Poland and known as Lwow. It was Herman’s home city before he migrated to Germany.
12. Erna Trost (1900 – 1944), Herman Trost (1870 – 1942) and Louise Trost (1903 – 1990). Legnica, Poland, circa 1920 / 2018
When it was part of Germany Legnica was known as Liegnitz. Herman lived there. When his wife died he became very close to his daughters Erna and Louise.
13. Paul Wiener (1899 – 1953), Louise Wiener née Trost (1903 – 1990), and Gerald Wiener (b 1926). Kostrzyn, Poland, 1926 / 2015
Louise Married Paul. They lived in the German Town of Küstrin, which is now in Poland and known as Kostrzyn. Their son Gerald was born there.
14. Gerald Wiener (b 1926), Louise Wiener née Trost (1903 – 1990), and Herman Trost (1870 – 1942). Bamberger Straße, Berlin. 1928 / 2016
Louise divorced Paul and took Gerald to Berlin. They lived with her father, Herman, who had retired there.
15. Louise Wiener née Trost (1903 – 1990), Gerald Wiener (b 1926); Erna Pese née Trost (1900 – 1944), Marion Pese (1925 – 1994), and Erich Pese (1887 – 1944). Görlitzer Park, Berlin. 1935 / 2018
Louise and her son Gerald, Erna and her daughter Marion and husband Erich, became a close knit group.
16. Gerald Wiener (b 1926) and Ruth Spooner (1886 – 1974). Oxford, England. 1939 / 2016.
Shortly before war broke out Gerald was saved by Kindertransport. He was cared for by a well-educated lady named Ruth Spooner.
17. Louise Wiener (1903 – 1990). Paddington, London, 1939 / 2016
Soon after, Louise escaped to England on a work visa and trained as a nurse at Paddington Hospital.
18. Paul Wiener (1899 - 1953). Gongping Road, Shanghai, 1939 / 2017
Paul escaped to Shanghai, where he lived in the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees.
19. Herman Trost (1870 – 1942). Koppenplatz, Berlin, 1942 / 2017
Herman could have escaped Germany, but refused to leave. He was deported to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp and died two weeks later.
20. Erich Pese (1887 - 1944 ) and Erna Pese (1900 – 1944). Oświęcim, Poland. 1944 / 2018
Erich and Erna could not escape Germany and were transported to Auschwitz Extermination Camp.
21. Marion Pese (1925 - 1994). Auschwitz II (Birkenau), Poland, 1946 / 2018.
Marion escaped to the United States. As soon as war ended she returned to Europe, and discovered her parents’ fate.
22. Gerald Wiener (b 1926) and Sheila Wiener (1929 - 2019) Pentland Hills, Midlothian, Scotland, 1955 / 2016
My parents, Gerald and Sheila, enjoyed walking in the Pentland Hills.