FoR (Faces of Recovery)
Photoweaving 2020
FoR pays homage to the people around me who deal with mental disorders or substance abuse issues. Mental health and substance abuse affect a wide variety of people from my immediate family to close friends. Through a series of photoweavings, I put a face to issues usually kept hidden, invisible illnesses that create a driving force for so much that we do, affect how we interact with the world around us, and sometimes break us down. Each individual I photographed for the series opened up to me during the course of the shoot sharing their strengths and vulnerabilities in managing their day to day lives and allowing me to capture quiet moments. I carefully wove thin strips of these portraits, putting the photographs – and the people in them – back together.
Then the pandemic hit. Our photography sessions were was cut short as we all sought refuge in our homes from the unknown. Mental states tanked and were pushed to the extremes in the months that followed. My original idea shifted. Instead of large-scale weavings, I worked smaller, creating pieces that were only 13 x 20”. Each cut and weave were more intimate as a result. As I wove, I searched for imperfect moments when the details became mismatched while thinking of how they all came together as a portrait. Weaving FoR granted me a small piece of sanity while battling my own demons. A way to remember that I wasn’t alone.
I started this work with the desire to give people a safe space to share their vulnerabilities with me, to speak about their lives, hopes, dreams, and struggles. It was for us, for that moment, for all the battles we’d survived and all those still to come. I also created for it you: to let you in and show you how mental illness and substance abuse can affect anyone.