STARKVILLE – Tuesday night, friends and family of Ana Blakely Davis gathered at Cullis Wade Depot Gallery on the campus of Mississippi State for the opening of her Senior Theseus Exhibition currently on display. The exhibition will go through November 24, and her prints are available for sale.
Davis, who is a recent graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in Fine Arts, has spent the last two years preparing for this exhibition, which is part of her requirements to graduate. Up until this past spring, shortly after the birth of her daughter, Magnolia Rose, now six months, her exhibition series was to be something entirely different.
“After Maggie was born, I struggled with Post-Partum [depression],” Davis said. “No one really talks about it. That’s not the happier side of motherhood.”
Davis said she wanted to capture motherhood from a different perspective, “no filter, not pretty, more raw.” She captured 20 images for her exhibition series, calling it “Motherhood Unveiled,” and each photograph but one is an image of Davis with daughter, Maggie, in some form.
“I kind of wanted to show what no one talked about,” Davis said. “I wanted [the images] to make you uncomfortable.
“I’ve been working on these since a month after she was born,” Davis said. “My heart just wasn’t behind [my first exhibition idea], and I proposed it to my teacher.”
The gallery exhibition only displays 13 of Davis’ photographs from the series.
“Usually there are 10 photographs in a show, but my teacher couldn’t narrow it down. So I have 13,” Davis said. “I am only selling five prints of each images [during the exhibition.]”
This very human series on motherhood is very different than the commercial photography in which she makes her living. The owner of Ana Blakely Photography, Davis has taken professional photographs since she graduated high school, focusing mainly on families, children, and weddings.
“I’m more on the commercial side, so [this exhibit] is pushing me out of my comfort zone,” Davis said.
Davis’ exhibition will be on display at Cullis Wade Depot at Mississippi State until November 24, open daily from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
The daughter of Kris and Tonya Blakely of Winona, Davis and her husband, Neal, live in Stewart with their daughter.
