I have always had trouble deciding what I like to photograph. I love taking self-portraits and photos of my friends, but I am also fascinated by the natural world and its beauty. I was introduced to the medium of alcohol transfers in my alternative processes class and was immediately drawn to it. The possibilities of collage  inspired this collection of photographs. For a long time, I have wanted to find a way to combine people and place, and the process of collage allowed me to do just that.

These collages include several different parts of my body along with different details of nature, including natural landscapes, plants, and animals. By doing so, there is a narrative of people being one with the wild fantasies of nature. My body appears in black and white, tethering the viewer to reality and something they can easily identify with. The other details of these collages are vibrant with color and viewers become lost in these dreamlike images. There is a clear connection between the body and nature, as both have the great potential for life and growth. I blur the lines between this connection and humans fit seamlessly into nature’s landscape. 

Humans have such a complex relationship with the natural world, often overlooking its beauty and instead exploiting the benefits of our world in their favor. I represent my body within these collages as though nature and I are the same. People could not survive without this beautiful world we were given. My work  celebrates the union of people and place, and the beauty of it all.