T H E D E S E R T

2011 I moved from my hometown of Washington, DC to Albuquerque in the summer of 2011 to attend graduate school at the University of New Mexico. I was alternately mesmerized and intimidated by the vastness of the sky and land and by the prospect of starting my life over. In The Desert I am making my mental struggle with dislocation into a futile physical act.  The desert, a landscape I am unfamiliar with, acts as a metaphor for a beautiful yet harsh and unforgiving reality of being on my own in a new place. The bag I carry in these photographs holds old thoughts, feelings, ideas and frustrations that have hindered me in the past and continue to obstruct me in the present.  On my journey I come across the sometimes beautiful and often eerie remains of creatures that succumbed to the heat, thirst, or perhaps some unknown injury. Barefoot and ill-prepared in a simple white dress, I wander aimlessly through the desert, finally leaving the burdensome bag behind in the hopes of finding my destination and pushing past my mental obstacles.