The dark is not inherently a bad thing. It can be a temporary teacher, a hurdle, or a critical space. Our darkness in all its varieties holds hands with the light, light that mends and heals. These elements are not experienced separately but exist together in community as a joint happening that leads to personal freedom.

What Brought Us Together Is Belief addresses themes of communal healing, rebirth, internal conflict, mourning, and freedom. It is an original curation of sixteen photographs that celebrate relationships with the self, others, and the world.

The roots of What Brought Us Together Is Belief stem from self-isolation during my youth. At a time when my room never saw daylight, it was my sanctuary. I have since allowed the definition of my safety to dissolve, reconstruct, and evolve within the relationships I share with Women and Non-Binary people. This body of work showcases the journey from a depressed state to the freedom gained through the hard-earned allowance of gentle touches, naked bodies, rightful pleasure, encouraged bravery, and soft gazes.

In this body of work I hear my mom talking on the phone, watch my sister wait for the bus, smell my cousin's cigarette, and feel the embrace of friends and strangers. I utilize these sensory details to cultivate a relationship between myself and my subjects that is vital to my practice. Every shoot ultimately reveals our attachments, how they represent us, and whether they disgust or intrigue us. I use photography as the highest form of honoring the beauty in intimacy.