In the void, the liveliness of the forest was my companion

In rage, the bottom of my lungs found air

In abuse, the forest sheltered me

It kept me safe 

The motive of this body of work is to explore the tension between the concepts of coming of age and loss of innocence. It is my exploration of conflicting emotions as a young woman moving from adolescence into adulthood. The forest is symbolic for the cycle of life. It symbolizes both growth and decay, physically as well as emotionally. The forest has intrinsic value; it is a place of meditation and self-finding. This body of work is aimed to convey these feelings associated with the forest, and through those important stages of growing up. 

The forest is a place, in which I seek comfort. On a bad day, the forest is a place for denial and hiding, where as on a good day, it is a place for seeking answers and confronting the self. Depending on time and place the associations changes. Therefore these images symbolize different stages in the transition of growing up.  In some frames the subjects are dressed in pretty white dresses still sheltered by their innocence. In others the subject is nude, communicating their physical and emotional vulnerability. The distance between the subject and the viewer, as well as the direction the subject is facing, balances how much the viewer is invited into the frame, and also the emotions of the subject. This body of work is influenced by the early 1900s exploration of nature and sexual identity by photographers like Anne Brigman and Wynn Bullock. It is a contemporary take on coming of age, mended with decorative characteristics of the past, and my personal relationship to the forest.