"Necessary Confabulations" imagines an alternative history in which women's expertise and intellect are as sought out and nurtured as those of their male counterparts. We create composite images showing women who never met, paired with captions from articles that were never published, imagining conversations that might have been. This project was made in collaboration with Jenny Lederer.

Jane Jacobs and Jane Birkin, 1969, 2019

Jane Jacobs (left) and Jane Birkin (right), leaving a meeting of London’s Concerned Citizens Against Slum Clearance (CCASC). Birkin invited Jacobs to speak on her experience spearheading similar initiatives in New York City and Toronto. The CCASC task force plans to continue to fight the demolition order which would level seven blocks of historic Lansdowne Gardens and force out life-long residents.

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Jane Fonda and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1973, 2019

Caption reads: “New York -- Actress and activist Jane Fonda hosts Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Columbia Law School’s first tenured female professor, at her upper west side apartment. United by their advocacy of women, the two sat down with our reporter to discuss the newly passed Title IX of the Education Amendments, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools.

Zora Neale Hurston and Marilyn Monroe, 1956, 2019

Writer Zora Neale Hurston and actress Marilyn Monroe on a Sunday drive in historic Daytona Beach, where Hurston received the Bethune-Cookman College Award for Education and Human Relations.

Earlier prints:

Frida Kahlo and Amelia Earhart, 1935, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.

Caption reads: Kahlo and Earhart delve deep on their Sunday drive, discussing FDR, the Franco dictatorship, and Cardenas, not to mention their own soaring careers.

Sophia Loren and Chien-Shiung Wu, 1957, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.

Caption reads: Actress Sophia Loren and Professor Chien-Shiung Wu, aka "The First Lady of Physics," pause for lunch at the Four Seasons. Loren and Wu are spearheading an initiative on behalf of imprisoned Taiwanese journalist Lei Chen.  

Shirley Ann Jackson and Janis Joplin, 1967, 2017 // Alternate image, embossed // 8 x 11 in.

Caption reads: Dr. Shirley Jackson and singer/songwriter Janis Joplin (center) relax on the steps of MIT’s Kresge Auditorium after their join presentation on science and activism. “Physics for Pacifists.”