This Is You, This is Me

These photographs, a series entitled “This Is You, This Is Me” explore my relationship with my own disabled body and society’s view of what is considered normal or perfect. The images delve into the discomforts and insecurities that come with pain, the pleasures and delights of what could be or what in fact is just the reality of my body. Each photograph is a small tale or contemplation that exists and evolves within my body at any time. As a whole, the project reflects longings, desires, hurts and limitations as well as mapping the physical history of my body. 

 The photographs also contain memories. The act of photographing myself repeatedly has brought forth memories of surgeries and falls, of other people’s stares and their reactions to me. Many of the photographs utter the unkind words or enquiries that are often asked without consent, catching me off guard, and sometimes shocking me into remembering that I am supposedly different from everybody.

But actually this is a falsehood. The truth is there is no such thing as the perfect body as society will have you believe. The body pictured here might just as well be yours with the same longings, desires, insecurities and abnormalities as mine. It’s just pictured a little bit differently. 

Each image is 14" x 14" printed in the darkroom on 16" x 20" Ilford Semi-matt warm tone paper and toned in gold. Edition of 10.