That Is MY Seat! (2013)

I created this image to reflect a memory of when I was young. I recreated the memory of me sitting in the car in the middle seat, getting my seat buckle fastened. I remember my sister getting into the car and pulling my hair as hard as she could to get me to move while yelling, “This is MY seat!” I was probably nine-years-old and when I was given the prompt of “ugly feelings” for my photography class, this is one of the first things that came to my mind. The recreated photograph is 15 inches tall by 21 inches long as an ink jet print on matte paper, printed in color. There are two little girls sitting in a large van screaming at each other while the older of the two girls is pulling the younger girl’s hair. All the other seats in the van are empty which begs the question “why are they fighting over a seat when there are thirteen other empty seats to choose from?”

    I chose to photograph these younger girls because they were around the age I remember this experience occurring and I wanted to keep the childish attitude in the piece. Because of this piece, I realized I was avoiding myself in my work for some reason. This mentality was challenged after I was married and conceived a child. Suddenly, everything was changing. My body was changing, my mindset was changing, my values were changing, and my relationships were changing. I decided to begin documenting these changes through my photography and began taking self-portraits again in early 2014.

Where Am I in All This? (2014)

I created this compilation of images of my protruding, pregnant belly and used pregnancy tests to document my experience being pregnant. The final image is a photo collage with semi-transparent layers of digital photographs printed at 18 inches wide by 15 inches high. It consists of a frontal image of a female midsection, layered under two side views of the same midsection facing toward each other. Images of used pregnancy tests with the positive results showing are layered on top in three columns covering the entire image in grid form. There is also a headshot that has been included with a very low opacity. The headshot is most likely the last thing seen, if it is seen at all. The photograph is in color and consists of a very fleshy palette. There are lots of shades of pink, tan, and white, which I believe gives the image a very warm and inviting tone.

    When approaching this piece, the first image that stands out for me is the two bellies. Upon taking a closer look, I then notice the pregnancy tests and after taking a step back, I see the traces of my profile. This is exactly how I felt my peers viewed me while I was pregnant. They first saw my belly and asked about the pregnancy. They would stare at my stomach and talk to it instead of talking to my face and asking about me or how I was doing. It also really changed how I saw myself. For many people that I interacted with during my pregnancy, they never got to a point where they looked me in the eyes while they talked to me. I wanted to show those frustrations in this photograph.