Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman is a photographic study examining the personal and cultural stigmas of infertility.

Portrait of a Woman is a photographic study examining the personal and cultural stigmas of infertility. It asks questions about the value of birthing bodies as reproductive vessels, brings visibility to a version of family planning that is rarely seen, and explores my own relationship with womanhood through loss, love, and family.

In 2020 I had my first miscarriage. Over the course of the next few years I underwent surgeries to increase my fertility, needed access to emergency abortion care, and began In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). I began making the self-portraits of IVF injections as a unique form of agency, crafting pictures together with my partner that spoke towards vulnerability and trust. In many images I use my body as a site to reclaim a sense of self, and as a tool to reposition the conversation around reproductive rights. I likewise look to the landscape for kinship; nests, holes, and seascapes become manifestations of fear, abundance, and absence. 

It is more important than ever to remain resilient in the face of increasing censorship of, and limitations on, reproductive healthcare. The narrative power of photography gives us a method to share such unseen experiences of family planning that need to be normalized, shared, and included in basic reproductive education.