Love Always,

As a queer woman, I have discovered through photography a way to understand my identity. By self documenting, I found a way to work through emotions within myself and my relationship with my family. In recent years, my connection to family has deteriorated due to my non-conformity and my need to live a life that I feel most reflects who I am. This has been a difficult transition and one that has made me feel imbalanced, mainly because of my desire to be true to who I am and the reality of my parent’s disapproval. The emotions this has brought up has led me to explore my identity through self portraiture. 

My thesis project, titled Love Always, is a series of images taken in places important to my childhood, such as my childhood home, my grandmother’s home, and my family’s favorite vacation spots. This work has allowed me to reflect on my past and relate it to my current self, and by doing this I have realized that there is not only a tension between my family and me, but also a tension within myself. Over the years,  it has taken time to come to terms with my identity and  I still struggle around those who matter most. Through my explorations,  I have revealed my true, authentic self to myself, but also to the world, which has been liberating to me. The black and white images are an example of the distance of memories and represent how they can feel abstract and out of reach. The photograph has the ability to bring a memory to the surface, however these moments are disconnected and surreal and at times I am unaware if I have fabricated the experiences or if they actually happened, which is why I feel the lack of color is important to my images and this work. Love Always, explores ideas of identity, memories, disconnection, and familial relationships through self portraiture.