Bedside Table Archives

The Bedside Table Archives is a curatorial project that explores the intimate domestic cultures of lesbian and queer women through conversation and photography.

The project was launched in July 2013, and the initial phase included 10 sessions with 11 women.

Photographs

In each session, I asked participants to give me some time alone with their bedside tables. I used this time to explore the items within and on top of the tables and took a series of photographs. For these photos, I used a Sony Alpha SLT-A33 camera body and alternated between a DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM kit lens and a Sony 50mm f/1.8 DT Alpha a-mount lens for closer shots. You can see a selection of photographs at www.rebeckasheffield.com/bta-photos

Audio Recordings

After exploring bedside tables and looking at objects that I found around the bed, I invited each participant to sit with me in conversation, using these objects as memory triggers. Discussions with participants were recorded as Mp3 files and have been donated to the Archives of Lesbian Oral Testimony (ALOT). Please contact ALOT directly to arrange access to the recordings.

Publications

You can read about the Bedside Table Archives in Radical History Review, Issue 120.