After Maxine

“The life of the dead is placed in the memories of the living.” - Cicero

In the series entitled After Maxine, I create stories about family and the landscape from a queer, female-bodied perspective. I explore both personal and ecological issues through photography, destabilizing the traditionally masculine framework of landscape photographic images. I employ the visual language of archiving and natural history to question degenerative relationships with the land, weaving an intimate story about family and community trauma. This fabricated narrative reveals hidden histories, both real and imagined, as a means of examining both my own identity and queer life in the South.

If honored with the PhMuseum 2026 Women Photographers Grant, I will expand the reach of this project through the creation of a photo book. I finished a bookmaking certificate at the San Francisco Center for the Book in 2024, and have since taken many more classes there. I am scheduled to make a book dummy at another bookmaking residency in April of 2027, so this award would support me at the perfect moment to take this work to the next level. I will use the supporting funds to purchase an Epson SureColor P9570 large format printer and paper. This will allow me to print larger, and at much lower costs than those I currently face in the Bay Area of California. Because the book will be a handmade artist's photo book, being able to do a lot of the printing on my own will significantly reduce the expense for project completion. The awarded funds will allow me the access I need to continue my professional practice a the highest level.

The other offered prizes are equally impressive, and I will be thrilled for the recognition and support. I have eagerly applied for this grant nearly every year since its inception. I believe in the quality of this work, and that queer stories from rural areas in America deserve to be shared with the world. I appreciate the judges' consideration and time.