THE AWAKENING OF THE DEER
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This series represents a longing for a former world that may no longer exist. What we thought of as normal before 2020 has shifted to a new reality where we begin to question our existence and purpose. I created these photo montages as a healing response to the global pandemic. At times it has felt like we are headed into a dystopian society, and at other moments it feels like we are being called to reflect deeply on ourselves as human beings and the world around us. The questions that inspired this project are, "Do we care for one another regardless of our differences?"; "What can we do to heal?"; "Can we just forget everything and start over?" and "How can I remember where I come from during a crisis?" I responded to these questions through this body of work. I wanted these images to meet in the middle of remembering and forgetting.
The first inspiration for this project was Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s painting “The Wounded Deer.” The context for the Wounded Deer is Frida's return to her home country of Mexico in 1946 after receiving back surgery in New York City. |
The focus of her career was depicting her emotional and physical pain through self-portraits – a theme that resonates for me both personally and culturally. As I began this project, I knew I wanted to capture land and sea as an homage to Frida’s Wounded Deer. I wasn’t sure how I was going to depict the deer until I was out for a walk and came upon a large date palm branch that resembled antlers. After doing the initial photoshoot on the beach, I developed the project using photo montage to merge the trees and the water. In the process of doing the montages, the work took on new meaning. It became reflective of what I have felt throughout the pandemic—a navigation between multiple realities.
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