"La Sombra" Project

My conceptual work is informed and inspired by the ethnographic research project I have been doing with women of African and North American indigenous descent in the communities of the coastal states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico. La Sombra Series refers to the traditional Afromestizo belief that illnesses and instances of spiritual disharmony and disequilibrium occur when an aspect of an individual called La Sombra, also known as the soul, or shadow, becomes lost or endangered. It must be "caught" or "called back" to its owner so that equilibrium may be restored and to make healing possible. In this body of work, I have photographed objects that I imagine symbolize La Sombra. The images also represent my musings about the feminine archetype.

I make the photographs in my garden using a Holga camera. I print them on fiber, and tone them with selenium.

Click the thumbnails at the left to view selected photos in this series.