Before visiting this exhibition, my mind was primed for a certain interpretation of it. The recent federal moves to erase bodily autonomy from anyone other than a cis white man, plus the controversial censorship (and police confiscation) of Mann’s photos at an exhibition in Fort Worth, TX—accusers wildly claimed that Mann’s depiction of children amounted to child pornography—led me to assume that Sally Mann’s exhibition “At Twelve” at Jackson Fine Art would be a despairing meditation on the ails of womanhood in the United States. And while there is most certainly darkness within this exhibition, there is quirk and humor and naïve boldness that kindles warmth and feels like a breath of fresh air.
