Spells for Uncertain Times

Spells for Uncertain Times explores the dichotomy between the cyclical and unpredictable nature of change and our desire for assurances and constants. If the only constant in life is change, I would add that it’s matched by the human capacity for hope. I am continually struck by the life-dance we each improvise in an attempt to resolve this tension and believe this is how we dream ourselves forward through challenge and difficulty. I made this work during the winter 2021 quarantine, a time in which we were collectively and deeply unsettled, insecure about world events, grieving and longing for resolution. As a way to cope with the isolation and anxiety during the short winter days, I found solace in the cycles of shadow and light that played out in my house each day. As time seemed to loop recursively, I submitted to the surreal and held space for the coming light, like a seed. Harnessing shadows, nurturing hope and burrowing down with my face to the light. The photos are comprised of both found and intuitively staged tableaux and conceptual portraits of a dear friend as the protagonist. Made in natural light in and around my home, the black and white compositions are intentionally spare in an attempt to distill the complexity and confusion of this time into comprehensible pieces – as if making elements for a spell.