Identical Twins

Identical Twins Roselle, New Jersey 1967 by Diane Arbus


I think of all her work, this is the photograph that I am drawn to the most. I love how one of them is smiling ever so slightly as her eyes light up, while the other wears a frown. In an interview with David Segal of The Washington Post in 2005, the twins, Cathleen and Coleen Wade as they were known at the time, said that they had no recollection of the instance of this now famous photograph of them.

Diane, known for capturing those she described as 'freaks', found the girls at a party held for twins and triplets in their neighbourhood.

'Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats.' - Diane Arbus