This project seeks to understand the impact of how growing up in different places affects the formation of one's social identity. Creating photographs of emotions, behaviors and the psychological states that arise from the environments we come from and how they shape us later on in life, is a staple of visual elements in this project. I exemplify the forest I grew up in to show what kinds of psychological states arise from the places we call home. In this case, feelings of isolation, longing for community, safety within your environment compared to feelings of hatred towards that environment are all examples that are depicted in these photographs. These pictures, however, are more than just a documentation of events; they are narratives that tell stories of our origins and the imprint that those places leave inside us. My hope is that this project will evoke introspection and allow the viewer to consider the subtle yet powerful ways that our environments shape who we are, who we become and the groups that we choose to affiliate ourselves with.
