SELF PORTRAITS
All images made in my home in 2021. Using color, light and performance, I create soft feminine images with dark undertones, occasionally using humor as a sharp edge.
I turned 30 on Friday, March 13, 2020 and the world shut down. My husband and I were told not to come into work on Monday. Our son's school closed its doors. At 30 years old I found myself playing roles that I had never expected to be part of my life. These included wife, mother, home owner, and corporate employee.
In June of 2020 we purchased our first house. I had not taken very many photographs during the pandemic and finally felt compelled to create. I began this series to explore my new space while simultaneously investigating myself, the roles I play juxtaposed with who I feel I really am. I used the creation of this work to explore different facets of my personality and my ability to fit into some situations while being completely unable to make myself fit into others.
Throughout my childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood I wasn’t confident that I knew who I was. I felt my personality shift and adapt to whatever setting I found myself in. It wasn’t until after turning 30 and being confronted with a global pandemic, that I began to know my true self. Maybe it was the time spent in my living space, maybe it was the act of buying a house or becoming more connected with my partner. Perhaps I felt like I had control over my life for the first time. Maybe my mental health was in a good place and I was taking care of myself physically. Maybe at 30, I was just ready to meet me.