Defense Date
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
Department
Photography and Film
First Advisor
Sonali Gulati
Second Advisor
Nadiya Nacorda
Third Advisor
Eli Coston
Abstract
Photography lends itself to both damaging and facilitating connection, the camera at once a weapon of destruction and a catalyst for change. The Design of a House is a call to love deeply. In the aftermath of body trauma, I use portrait photography to reconnect with myself and others. Through making portraits, I bridge my own gap between fear and intimacy. Primarily working with film-based cameras and hand-sensitized photographic materials, I reintroduce touch through process. The slowness, delicacy, and tactility of these acts offer a safety I am learning to trust. When photographing myself, my mother, and my partner, I capture both the distance and closeness between us. I consistently choose to create harmony from opposing forces—grief and resurgence, pain and joy, masculine and feminine, light and dark.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
11-21-2025