Date of Submission

Spring 2024

Academic Program

Photography

Project Advisor 1

Jasmine Clarke

Abstract/Artist's Statement

(i carry it in] is a photographic exploration of the body. I worked to strip away the inherent sexualization of the female form, seeing how far I could push the soma to further understand how much strain the body can hold.

I found myself thinking about E.E. Cummings’ poem, “[I carry your heart with me (I carry it in]”, which examines themes of love and profound intimacy.

I photographed women who I love. I placed my subjects in natural landscapes, furthering the possibility for change and expanding the practice of becoming one with the world. I asked them to play, to move their bodies freely within the space. We pushed to see how far they could distort their forms. Together, we learned the limits of the body, what it can and cannot do. Not only did I witness the contorting forms of my subjects’, I also experienced my own body’s limits as I positioned to take pictures. As my body experienced the strain of the environment, the biting wind and cuts forming on my legs, I decided to step into the role of the subject and allow my participants to click the shutter. I climbed head first into the marsh, sticking my legs up in the air. I waded through the river, going numb as I dunked under freezing water. I experienced the place of the subject and photographer, my body enduring and thriving in the environment alongside the women who went with me.

I found liberation by providing my participants a place to let go and give into their own creative audacity, allowing them to choose how to take up space within the world. I watched as the women around me found freedom through movement alongside each other. I carried these women with me as they carried me through this project.

Open Access Agreement

On-Campus only

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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