Ties That Bind Series | Large Format Digital Prints | 2015 - 2017

The Ties That Bind Series incorporates hand gestures, which I have used in my photography for over a decade. The series was created at the end of my divorce, and I as is typical, was the “model”.  In my photography I enjoy utilizing dramatic film lighting  and elements of a “set”.  In this case, the fabric of the table cloth is woven with the Greek Key motif.  This motif is the essence of the labyrinth, the journey of one’s soul.  The cloth and costume are juxtaposed to a crude type of cord that give the feel of an ancient time period. 

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The woman in the photo is like any other going through an ugly divorce.  I was fortunate, unlike many in the world today, and many before me, that I had a legal system that gave me protection; one that would not leave me dead or penniless.  My “tied” hand gestures, represent being bound by the constraints of bullying abuse, as well as, the plethora of legal, monetary, and spiritual cords that tied me to the man I no longer recognized.

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On close examination, the cords are not tightly tied.  The hands can wiggle out of the ties, which represents the freedom divorce can bring. The open unbound hands represent a prayer for hope and energetic connection to the universe to bring deserving new love, grace and joy to the divorcing woman, who in this moment is me.  The moment the camera captured this last image was the documentation of the final moment of the ritual which was my prayer.  As I rested in the moment with open palms, I intuitively sensed I would become the freed woman with all of the richness of possibilities before her.