My work is about the female experience and the collective story of womanhood. My motivation and drive for my projects come from my want to explore themes of femininity, interpersonal relationships, individuality and the cultural and societal expectations that weigh in on our emotional and psychological states. While feminism certainly informs my work the true core of all my photographs lies in the relationship with oneself. Therefore, a lot of my photography exists in the in-between of reality and dreams, embracing the surreal and creating new space for each subject explored.
In Chris Orwig’s book Visual Poetry he says, “The photographs gave voice to what was happening inside me”. Nothing could be more true with my photographs. Each image I create is a cathartic experience and I can’t deny that each image is not in some way tied to my own experiences. The thing about stories is that no one tale alone is unique. We all share similar struggles, great losses, happy and affirming moments and the precarious journey of discovering our relationship with our self. What is unique, I feel, is the way in which each individual’s multiple stories combine to create something that is all their own. The outcome from these experiences changes and shapes each woman so differently. While the stories may be the same who they are at the end is not. I find this fascinating.
For me there is an undeniable aura surrounding women that is almost mythical in a way. Modern womanhood rests not on its own but built on the historical roots of women who came before from their achievements and their struggles. There is a shared history that I feel is primarily woman’s story alone. This story involves things we all know about collectively that we become numb to but at the same time can have a hard time talking about personally when they cause pain individually. Those things such as motherhood, infertility, sexual assault, loss, abuse, societal and cultural expectations and so on are where I stake my claim with my photography.
I want to talk about what hurts.
