ellie_brown_photography

Hugo, 3.5, Pre-School Student.

ellie_brown_photography

Josie, 7, Student.

Philadelphia-based photographer Ellie Brown dares to undo the zippers and snaps of our most private portable spaces, emptying and cataloguing personal paraphernalia in the series BAG. From school children to gallery directors, Brown examines the dueling aspects of our public and private identity. Each diptych features the subject juxtaposed with the items they carry about with them. Brown then creates an extensive list of each article, inquiring as to what they value most and what they would part with. BAG allows us to do what all our mothers told us not to—snooping into the telltale articles of each other’s lives. Whether a single horse hair or someone else’s negligee, Brown’s intimate Rolodex is as surprising as it is entertaining, proving you never know what is just beneath the surface.

BAG is available as a photo book through LuLu.

ellie_brown_photography

Wolf, 12, Student.

ellie_brown_photography

Thordur, 18, House Painter.

ellie_brown_photography

Almar, 22, Video/Movie Editor.

ellie_brown_photography

Eva, 29, Food Journalist.

ellie_brown_photography

Elise, 30, Songwriter.

ellie_brown_photography

Preston, 30, Cowboy.

ellie_brown_photography

Alexis, 30, Aspiring Novelist.

ellie_brown_photography

Dawn, 51, Retired Beautician.

ellie_brown_photography

Ted, 55, Rancher.

ellie_brown_photography

Wenke, “ageless,” Business Woman.

ellie_brown_photography

Rita, “old,” Retired MedTech.