To be in the presence of her healing, protection, love and energy
All she needs in return is for us to collectively do the same
Protect your Mother
Her light kissed the wave gently as they danced together like no one was watching. The ocean is a woman.
A collection of beings integrating our planet’s sacred spaces to intentionally play, expand, educate, protect, move and heal with.
I feel my toes grip onto my muddy Chaco’s as they begin to sink into the soil of the Earth, forever leaving my mark. Before I lift my heavy camera off of my sunburnt neck, I close my eyes and begin to breathe. I tune in completely to the wind as she dances through my knotty braid that hasn’t been washed in too many days. The surrounding sounds of water gliding down the rocks begin to create a symphony causing my eyes to become so glossy that now I can barely decipher between the shadows and highlights in front of me. I then begin to lift my left hand with an inhale and place it into the frame that is about to be created with the right. Exhale, press shutter.
This is how it all started.
My Self-Portrait Series began around nine years ago when I found myself holding my mom’s new DSLR camera. Lifting up my left hand and placing it into the frame became the way I taught myself how to set my exposure as a teenager (because of course I had no intention of ever picking up a manual, sorry dad).
But there was a shift when I started to view my hand images not just as a quick setting check, but more of a spiritual connection to the spaces and land I was photographing. This series woke me up to dive deep into researching the land I was placing my mark on forever along with creating space to educate myself and others on how to protect it. I encourage you to read about the Indigenous people who stood on the exact land that you are currently occupying while reading this and question yourself as to why you are there and they are not.
Never in a million years did I think that my long fingers, long legs or long toes would end up in galleries across the world and be the underlying reason I feel connected and purposeful to the Earth.
