Gay Block felt that photographing her mother was key to understanding herself, her origins, and the values that defined her upbringing. Block’s mother represents not just one of the photographer’s earliest subjects, but also one of her most frequent. The two posed together at different points throughout their lives until Block’s mother’s death in 1991. Through this double portrait, Block poignantly explores the connection between parent and child, while laying bare the difficulties of changing roles brought about by aging and injury, eliciting the tension between closeness and individuality and ultimately expressing the tenderness grounding their relationship.