Artist Statement

My series is titled “Words Hurt”. A lot of times in society there is the belief that there is something wrong with us, that we are not good enough, that we are ugly, plagues many people, including myself, for much of our lives. Whether this false belief comes from external sources such as bullying or internal self-hate, or a mix of the two, it is an epidemic. With this shoot I wanted to make visual this struggle and start to change the way we see ourselves. One way I really showed this was through contrast from what the models were wearing compared to this white background in order for them to pop more. In addition, I did this in order to make the main focus be on the models and the words that were being portrayed on them.

To visually represent the bullying and self-hate these male and females had endured we wrote the words that had stuck with them the most on their bodies. Writing these cruel words on these wonderful people made me physically sick. However, getting these words out of their heads and onto their bodies made them start to lose some of their power. Once writing them they could see how utterly untrue they were. After the negative words were written and photographed they wiped them away. Wiping them off their bodies and replacing them with positive loving words. We learned though that getting rid of these words isn’t as easy as all that. They stick and seep into the skin. It took real work to get them off, as it does to get these negative untrue words out of our hearts and minds. It felt so good to finish the shoot with positive loving words. Words that meant something to these beautiful and handsome people, words that they could carry with them and believe in. I hope this shoot helps viewers to see that all the hurtful things you are carrying inside you and start to let them go and replace them with the infinitely true messages of love and compassion that you deserve.