Boundaries

This project was created for the Young Photographers Alliance Mentoring Program – a three-month program designed for beginner photographers to build a project under the guidance of professional mentors – with the 2014 theme simply reading: Boundaries. I knew immediately that my series would interpret this as social boundaries faced by women, with the more specific goal of depicting everyday sexism.

The series shows one woman, an average young professional, engaging in daily routines – but with a twist. Male arms and hands can be seen intruding into each frame, aggressively claiming ownership of the woman’s body. In each scenario, chosen from my personal experiences or those of women close to me, the subject maintains a blank expression, representing our collective acceptance of harassment and sexism.

The discomforting effect of the final photographs mimics the jarring experiences of women everywhere.