Idyll of the South: Portrait of Aunt Mary

In this work, Holmes reimagines a family photograph of her paternal aunt, Mary Lois Maxwell: "On what could be a hot summer day in Hope, Arkansas, Aunt Mary reclines on the grass in front of a wooden barn pieced together from sources of weathered wood. The barn is likely made from old reclaimed railroad cars, constructed like a quilt of rectangles and squares with one window to inside but no door to enter." Mary sits on a bed of newspaper pages to protect her dress from the ground. Holmes has inserted newspaper clippings specifically referencing "something of the Southern challenges of the era Mary was born in." Holmes associates "a well of melancholy" with her relative that "obscures a woman who found herself trapped in a rural landscape with dreams of the city." The display of a toy train and tracks, and the envelopes tucked into the shutters, references the journeys, relocations, and correspondence of the Great Migration. Holmes's aunt is a favorite subject for the artist.  By revisiting her relative through portraiture Holmes gives her "the love and attention she desired during her lifetime" and positions Mary "in a place of high esteem recognizing her femininity and potential while honoring her story and her obstacles."