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My work explores themes of womanhood, aging, and the quotidian. I am looking at how gestures and touch connect the women I photograph in this group of photographs. I am also curious about how the body stores trauma, a vessel of accumulated experiences.

Surface and texture become important storytellers within the photographs, revealing subtle imperfections that become nuanced within traditional beauty and the stigma of aging. I am drawn to the small moments that go unnoticed, details of the body that one wouldn't usually look at for an extended time. Intimate moments are revealed through the observation of touch, exposed skin, and pressed bodies during in-between moments. I use photography as a mediator between myself and my subjects.

I began making these photos using my mother and two younger sisters as subjects, which soon extended to women I met through friends, online, and ads. Beliefs are woven into our gestures, passed down from one another. They lie amongst the quotidian, embedded into our very beings. Simple interactions we repeat and observe performed by our mothers, grandmothers, and sisters.

The creation of this work stems from my trauma and acts as a way to connect with other women to form a community revolving around shared experiences. I use photography as a mediator to address the inheritance of beliefs, drawing from personal experience and making photos through witnessed and staged performances.

© Jillian Freyer - Morgane cries, first time meeting in March of 2020.
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Morgane cries, first time meeting in March of 2020.

© Jillian Freyer - Mom and Chelsea go through self-defense moves.
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Mom and Chelsea go through self-defense moves.

© Jillian Freyer - Two girls hang the laundry in August 2019.
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Two girls hang the laundry in August 2019.

© Jillian Freyer - Carmen after she gave birth to Arlo in 2019.
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Carmen after she gave birth to Arlo in 2019.

© Jillian Freyer - People lay their hands on Germaine to help her heal.
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People lay their hands on Germaine to help her heal.

© Jillian Freyer - Elizabeth is held in the river just above the surface, by her sister Sadie.
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Elizabeth is held in the river just above the surface, by her sister Sadie.

© Jillian Freyer - Lily spits and sticks her tongue out, lying in the grass behind her mom's home.
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Lily spits and sticks her tongue out, lying in the grass behind her mom's home.

© Jillian Freyer - My mother is dragged by her arms, showing the emotional weight the body can hold onto
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My mother is dragged by her arms, showing the emotional weight the body can hold onto

© Jillian Freyer - Three women twirl above, gazing down at the camera
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Three women twirl above, gazing down at the camera

© Jillian Freyer - My grandmother steps on my mother's abdomen, where her cesarean scar is.
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My grandmother steps on my mother's abdomen, where her cesarean scar is.

© Jillian Freyer - Aiyanna and Elizabeth embrace one another in the river
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Aiyanna and Elizabeth embrace one another in the river

© Jillian Freyer - Amanda has been going gray since she was a little girl -- here you can see her white hair growing in.
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Amanda has been going gray since she was a little girl -- here you can see her white hair growing in.

© Jillian Freyer - Sadie lays down in the long summer grass, dirty feet shining up towards the sky.
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Sadie lays down in the long summer grass, dirty feet shining up towards the sky.

© Jillian Freyer - Lily holds Quinn's face while they recline on the winter lawn
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Lily holds Quinn's face while they recline on the winter lawn

© Jillian Freyer - A girl along the river looks at her reflection, in isolation from the others.
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A girl along the river looks at her reflection, in isolation from the others.

© Jillian Freyer - My mom dumps water on Lily behind the house in the woods.
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My mom dumps water on Lily behind the house in the woods.

© Jillian Freyer - Small rocks are stuck in the woman's back, leaving impressions.
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Small rocks are stuck in the woman's back, leaving impressions.

© Jillian Freyer - Sadie and Lily are lying in the grass.
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Sadie and Lily are lying in the grass.

© Jillian Freyer - In a closeup of my grandmother's face, I hold her hair out of her eyes.
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In a closeup of my grandmother's face, I hold her hair out of her eyes.

© Jillian Freyer - Chelsea and Lily embrace one another.
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Chelsea and Lily embrace one another.

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