Nuestra Pureza

There is a place inside us that is our pure essence. It is what makes us different from each other. It is something difficult to define, but it goes beyond our biology, our upbringing and our experiences. I liken it to the pure essence that exists in the grass, the ocean, or a whale. Different from each other in personality and in life purpose, but lived out in a intuitive, pure sense.

This is a state we all long to exist in. We lose ourselves, though, when the pressures of our world impress upon us its own expectations and labels. The last few years I have been on a quest to notice and strip down those pressures. Who I thought I should be as a woman, a religious person, a daughter, a professional, an artist, a community member…

But while the series is based off my likeness, I call the subject “her”, because she is a representation of other women whose experiences might resonate with mine. It can be extended to men, even, whose desire for self-knowing, acceptance, and celebration I believe resonates more closely with women than we might think or care to consider. 

This series is an invitation to discover and embrace our essences. They are not dangerous. They are not wrong. They are our greatest contribution to those we love and to our planet.