ARTIST STATEMENT
This series is motivated by my own personal history and by the history of female representations in art, religion, and popular media. The Madonna series focuses in on women as they are simultaneously asked by the artist to think of a range of personal but nonspecific moments from their lives. The facial expressions of the subjects take on universal roles for the viewers as they recognize the unconscious eye movements accompanying specific thought processes. I am at a close proximity to my subjects while photographing this series and the room is full of emotion. While making the final selections, I use psychological eye-accessing cues to analyze the final images. This series utilized a traditional, controlled method of film studio photography, emphasizing the importance of the singular captured moment. The women in this series are asked to procure an honest intimacy with the photographer, and in consequence, they also do so with the viewer.