Ask me anything..but that

25th June 2015

So what kind of photographer are you? What kind of work do you do… ?

I feel my back arch and my toes curl…I look around the room hoping that some crevice or floor tile might provide a succinct answer that will lead onto another topic, an entirely different one, one that doesn’t ask me to define my entire being into a short description.I wonder what answer would interest my interviewer? What would entice them, engage them and genuinely hold their attention. I struggle to define what it is I ‘do’. My answer is too predictable, too simple and too boring. This is when I wish I was a spy..or an astronaut or have a PHD in the history of women in China during the revolution….

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my job. I live it and breathe it and I’m grateful every day that I have my dream job but sometimes asking to define it just seems too personal and simple, I have no idea why.

Rant aside, this image is from over three years ago when I first started my project Purity. It’s a young couple who had recently been very informally matched. When I met them they had liked each other a while and their parents had recently approved. This was the first time they had met properly in a long time and They happily wed a few months later. Marriage amongst young Hassidic Jewish women fascinates me and the idea that you marry and then fall in love is very much honoured. A marriage is an opportunity to learn and discover who your partner is. This image reminded me how long ago I started exploring this project and how much I need to push myself to learn more….oao x