The only woman

Poring over archives of photographs spanning the 1860s through 2020, documentary filmmaker Humes has assembled a collection with a common feature: group portraits of men, but always also including one lone woman. "Why her and only her? What does her onliness mean?" Humes asks in this project she calls a story of power. Across class portraits, association members, company executives, clubs, artist movements, government leaders, and political movements, the only woman embodies distinct categories: first of her kind (of a medical school class, for example); there solely for gendered work (cook, nurse); by birth or marriage (royalty, a family business); or as token representative. What strikes Humes is, as she phrases it, the ludicrous sameness across time, place, culture, and occupations: many men, always one woman. The medium of photography seems especially suited to convey this truth, both through repetition and through a unique quality photographs have, which seems to point to and say, "There! Do you see?" VERDICT This smart and exceptional project observes photography observing power relations, and is highly recommended.