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‘The Umbilical Vein’: A Mother and Daughter Collaborate on Theatrical Portraits For 13 Years

By Ellyn Kail on August 5, 2014

I’m an Old Woman Now, 1996 © memymom

Catwoman Uncensored, 1994 © memymom

For The Umbilical Vein, photography team Memymom, composed of mother Marilène Coolens and daughter Lisa De Boeck, unearth a collection of analog images of De Boeck taken by Coolens over the course of her youth and adolescence. Between the years of 1990 and 2003, the daughter—ranging in age from 5 to 18— performed improvised theatrical scenes for her mother’s camera.

Against the backdrop of their Brussels home, the girl toys with various tropes of 1990s femininity, playing the part of the Hollywood starlet, aristocrat, the wild child, the showgirl, and the rebel. Inspired by De Boeck’s late father’s suggestion that they make a book of the thousand archived images, they pulled a select few to share with the world.

In many ways, the images mark a courageous foray into the murky landscape of adolescence. Like photographer Cindy Sherman, the child earnestly embodies each character, even if the femme fatale heels don’t quite fit her little feet.

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