Lorna Simpson’s ID is a diptych, or an artwork made of two parts or panels, intentionally displayed next to each other. Overall, it features two vertical, black and white gelatin silver prints, each measuring forty inches tall and forty-nine inches wide. When placed side by side, the two photographs measure or about four feet tall by seven feet wide. Starting with the left photograph, Simpson attached a black plaque engraved with the word “identify” over a black and white image that appears to capture just a braided lock of a person’s hair. In the photograph on the right, she attached another plaque bearing the word “identity” on top of a portrait of a woman with her back turned to the camera. In the image on the left, the hair appears to hover on its own in a black background surrounded by a black frame. The hair is short and thick, with tight coils. A cast shadow hides some of the hair on the left of the image, creating an imperfect circle that sits in the center of the frame. Its texture and shape resemble a waning moon in the night sky. Below this floating section of hair, in the lower third of the frame and just off-centered to the right, sits a black plaque. In the center of the plaque, the word “identify” is engraved with white, all lowercase, italicized letters. In the image on the right, there is a photograph of a figure that appears to be a young, biological woman with her back turned to the camera, sitting in a black background with matching frame. This figure has short hair similar to that shown on the sister image to its left, their hair barely touching their ears. While their hair is also curly, the curls are not as thick. Instead, the ringlets are about the diameter of a pencil with a softer texture. The figure wears plain, long-sleeved, dark clothing with a scoop neck collar, revealing the tops of their narrow shoulders and upper back, as well as and the nape of their slender neck. Centered between this figure’s shoulder blades, and in stark contrast the figure’s medium complexion, sits a solid black plaque identical to the one described in its sister piece. However, in the plaque that sits on this figure’s back, the word “Identity” is written.