You Have Nothing to Worry About.

You Have Nothing to Worry About, is a complex and difficult body of work that can be broadly defined as documentary photography.

Since 2009, I have been making photographs of my mentally ill, substance-abusing mother. Her diagnoses change frequently—from alcoholism to dissociative identity disorder—and my relationship with her has been fraught with animosity for as long as I can remember. I am fully aware that my mother thrives on being the center of attention and that, at times, our portrait sessions encourage her erratic behavior.

The photographs are simultaneously upsetting and encouraging; honest and theatrical; loving and hateful. By turning the camera toward my mother and my relationship with her, I capture her behavior as an echo of my own emotional response. The images function like an on going conversation.

© Melissa Spitz - "I fell down and broke my jaw.", 2012
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"I fell down and broke my jaw.", 2012

© Melissa Spitz - Note from Adam to Mom, 2012
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Note from Adam to Mom, 2012

© Melissa Spitz - “I need this for protection”, Mom’s BB Gun, 2014
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“I need this for protection”, Mom’s BB Gun, 2014

© Melissa Spitz - All of Mom's Prescriptions, 2014
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All of Mom's Prescriptions, 2014

© Melissa Spitz - The last time Dad remembers Mom being 'normal'., 1996
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The last time Dad remembers Mom being 'normal'., 1996

© Melissa Spitz - Mom's Vacation, 2013
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Mom's Vacation, 2013

© Melissa Spitz - Appendectomy, 2013
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Appendectomy, 2013

© Melissa Spitz - "Here take these, you will feel better.", Xanax from Mom, 2013
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"Here take these, you will feel better.", Xanax from Mom, 2013

© Melissa Spitz - Pool Day, 2015
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Pool Day, 2015

© Melissa Spitz - Mom's Sink, 2015
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Mom's Sink, 2015

© Melissa Spitz - Mom's Mask Pt. 1, 2011
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Mom's Mask Pt. 1, 2011

© Melissa Spitz - Under the Drivers Seat, 2016
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Under the Drivers Seat, 2016

© Melissa Spitz - Intravenous Fluids, 2014
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Intravenous Fluids, 2014

© Melissa Spitz - Florida, 2016
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Florida, 2016

© Melissa Spitz - Rocking Chair, 2013
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Rocking Chair, 2013

© Melissa Spitz - In the Flowers, 2015
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In the Flowers, 2015

© Melissa Spitz - Mom's Mask Pt. 2, 2016
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Mom's Mask Pt. 2, 2016

© Melissa Spitz - Wallpaper, 2013
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Wallpaper, 2013

© Melissa Spitz - Looking for her cheerleading uniform, 2018
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Looking for her cheerleading uniform, 2018

© Melissa Spitz - Mom At Creve Coeur Lake, 2016
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Mom At Creve Coeur Lake, 2016