Changing Face/Facing Change
The series "Changing Face/Facing Change" documents my experience with major jaw surgery. The surgery, done for medical reasons, also significantly changed what I look like. In the year leading up to my surgery date, I became increasingly anxious about the surgery and increasingly desperate to document my face before it changed. I surrounded myself with plants for comfort and to remind myself how plants grow and change, but do not lose their identities in the process. As I recovered from surgery, I used the camera to grapple with my new appearance even as it rapidly shifted as I healed. I looked for what had stayed the same, found elements of masculinity and femininity, and caught glimpses of who I was becoming. Jaw surgery has been a major pivotal event in my life. I am reborn, I am discovering who I am.
The series "Changing Face/Facing Change" documents my experience with major jaw surgery. The surgery, done for medical reasons, also significantly changed what I look like. In the year leading up to my surgery date, I became increasingly anxious about the surgery and increasingly desperate to document my face before it changed. I surrounded myself with plants for comfort and to remind myself how plants grow and change, but do not lose their identities in the process. As I recovered from surgery, I used the camera to grapple with my new appearance even as it rapidly shifted as I healed. I looked for what had stayed the same, found elements of masculinity and femininity, and caught glimpses of who I was becoming. Jaw surgery has been a major pivotal event in my life. I am reborn, I am discovering who I am.