sarah

An early concept behind this work was to ask uncomfortable questions to try to elicit responses that would photograph evocatively. It wasn’t particularly deep work yet. But I told Sarah about it and immediately she was like “OMG I’M DOING IT DRUNK, ASK ME ANYTHING,” which was way too intriguing of an opportunity to pass up. (Not pictured: a rapidly draining bottle of gin just off camera.) For several hours Sarah told stories about past versions of herself, about her drag character Herpes Lamar, about fond musical theatre memories, and about a major trauma she’d experienced.

I’ve been in awe of these photos since the day we made them, but have struggled with how to write about the conversation. These are not my lived experiences, and I  fear unintentionally co-opting them. What I’ve discovered is that my art makes it possible to be a conduit for the weight that the experiences carry, so I decided that posting just the question would allow the image itself to be the answer. 

On this day, the question was simply: “what happened?”

This session was absolutely harrowing and is a large part of what solidified the artistic connection between Sarah and I. Seldom have I been so fortunate to have someone who almost literally dives at *every* single* idea* I’ve thrown her way. Sarah brings a piece of her soul to the table every time we create. A true modern day muse and one of the Greats.