Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project

U.S.-born photographer Tierney Gearon is perhaps best known for a public contretemps stemming from a 2001 London exhibition called I Am a Camera that included nude photos of her seven-year-old daughter and four-year-old son. But while filmmakers Peter Sutherland and Jack Youngelson's Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project makes reference to the controversy, the focus is on another part of Gearon's “family” project: a series of photos of her aged mother, a manic-depressive schizophrenic living in an isolated, ramshackle house in upstate New York. In these informal “sessions,” in which Gearon and her children visit the home, the photographer captures revealing shots, some featuring nudity, but most of which are visually unprovocative and rather touching. The whole endeavor's resonance is accentuated by the fact that Gearon is newly pregnant, and the film later documents the family's interaction with the newborn. A multilayered profile of both the artist and the intimate network of close relationships that define her work, this is a moving and compelling film. DVD extras include 20 minutes of deleted scenes (including footage of The Mother Project's New York gallery opening), a selection of home movies, a photo gallery, and statements from Gearon and the filmmakers. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)