The Women We Are

Beginning, first, as a response to an internet, call-out for remote photographers, The Women We Are are evolved into a collective visual story about a supportive community of eight women in mid-Michigan and their relationships with their bodies. Some of the women are mothers, some are not, though they were all of the childbearing age. None of them have always loved their bodies, but most of them feel quite beautiful and not in spite of their flaws, but because of them.

 

Drawing on my, then, 22 years as a photographer, I spent a year beginning in February 2014 interviewing, photographing and documenting the intimate relationships between a woman, her body, and life experiences that bond the two.

 

Excerpts from the interviews punctuated the 40 black-and-white images with recollections of mothers and lovers, births and deaths, abuse and survival.

 

What you see here is just a portion of the full collection.

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As a whole, The Women We Are aimed to connect its viewers with its models in a unifying experience that dissolves stigma, and reminds us, that we are all humans with hearts, no matter our body, size or shape. It is a collective story. One that hoped provide the courage for women to be proud of themselves, to feel beautiful in their skin, and to be comfortable with who they are.

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The gallery show ran from February 6 - March 6, 2015 with over 200 attendees on opening night. A limited edition book was published with over 150 sold.

 

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