Phoenix Rising

At a young age, women intuitively learn to re-invent themselves. In different phases of their life, they morph into what is needed. They become providers, lovers, caretakers, listeners—almost sub-consciously. Beauty, quick-wit, and intelligence are usually recognized by both themselves and others, although these traits are not always welcomed. When met with resistance women often change. Whether by rebellion or submission, their underlying essence never leaves. They are still beautiful but altered. They can be confusing to others but the foundational aspects of their personality remain. The internal being of a woman is what she will always be, regardless of her exterior. A phoenix: rising, burning to ash, reinventing, rising again, repeat. Taking an image I made, altering it in the physical world, and re-photographing it echoes the underlying principle found in all my creative endeavors: Same, but different. The change becomes integral to the photograph in order to create a new image with a third dimension--not a replicate but a new work with a different narrative. The images are made all over the world and left where I photographed them-maybe found and taken home or perhaps discarded. This part of the process is a metaphorical bridge connecting real-life experiences of women. Adventurers on their own, women sometimes connect with others and other times are forgotten. The undetermined endpoint of the images relates to the many unknown versions a woman may become of herself.