Intimacy Learned

2023

Sexuality is a natural part of being human. It’s not something learned, it's something felt. Americans, specifically Southerners are avoidant of anything related to another person's display of sexuality, whether their own intimacy with themselves or with others. Personally, my middle school biology class skipped the chapter about reproduction so we were never taught anything about our bodies. By avoiding it, we teach kids to avoid it, too. For many women in my generation, our mothers simply handed us a book called The Care and Keeping of You without any description of what the book entailed.The fear of learning our bodies all on our own creates a distance between ourselves and the comfort we feel with others. What’s unknown is terrifying. 

With change in environment comes change in mentality. What used to be uncomfortable now becomes an open discussion. There is a new fixation of things we were never allowed to learn or talk about.

In my photography, I explore sexuality as a performance. What we don’t normally get to see, the camera does, and in turn, so does the viewer. We get to become voyeurs of the intimate spaces and actions of another person’s sexuality. My images convey a sense of comfort and trust with each model. Through our lived experiences and that sharing of knowledge, we can grow, connect and become truly vulnerable with others. We can overcome the built in discomfort and dive deep into desire.