| Digital Photography | There are approximately 8 billion people in the world, all unique in their own way. How do we connect with one another? We identify with others whom we look similar to, those who share in our interests and beliefs, and often with those who have similar connections with the same geographical locations that we do. As humans, we stick with what we know, what feels comfortable to us, and that has consequently led to a huge issue of a lack of human connection. Self-centered, involved only in what lies directly in front of us (often a cell-phone), unaware of the billions of other lives that are being lived around us. What can be the force that brings us together again? Nature-- the Earth that has provided us with land and sea since the beginning of time. We’re all children of the Earth. Italian, African, Mexican, Polish, Caribbean, Native American, Swedish, Irish, etc.,etc., etc. It’s great to connect with others who share in our culture and ancestry, but sometimes the divide is more negative than positive.
I gathered models and tattooed them in projections of the land/sea of their heritage, the places they closely identify with, in hopes of commenting on this overall idea. Models were proud and excited to see themselves embodying the views of their ancestries, even though the visuals of these locations weren’t exactly clear. And that’s the point. It isn’t clear. What’s apparent is that these models are dressed in landscapes of places on our planet, not on Mars, not on any other solar entity, but of the planet that is home to us all. The point is to widen the scope, to look at the largest connection we all have. Maybe, just maybe, if we can strengthen our connection with the nature around us, we will be able to strengthen our relationships with every person as well.