Light in the Darkness

In the winter of 2021, there was an unexpected and unprecedented wildfire in my town. Over 1000 homes were burned. Our house was spared, and we were so grateful and blessed. However, the scar left on my town and in the lives of my neighbors is visceral and raw. We drive and walk by the black ground and burned-out lots that once were homes on a daily basis. The psychological wounding led me back to a project I began as a senior in high school, over 25 years ago.

I wanted to use color, group joy, shameless self-expression, and brightness to make a declaration about how one holds on to their sense of self and their right to live a fully expressed life, even as the world around them is troubled and tragic.

I invited couples and groups of people to play, sparkle, dance, and reclaim their divine right to joy. I asked people what makes them light in dark times. I asked people how they hold on to their own color and agency in a landscape marked by suburban grayness, brown grasses, and fire-blackened Earth.

This work took place over several shoots curated in the winter of 2021 and 2022 and will be made into a short film.

Click on the photos to enlarge and see captions