kin is a project super close to my heart, started during the pandemic. as the months–and now years–progressed, we have all seen and experienced the ways in which it has changed the world around us and our places in it.

 

this period was one of a lot of self-reflection for many of us, myself included. i watched my business dwindle to a standstill along with those of my many friends who are self-employed in the arts especially. in the quiet months of waiting and watching and worrying, i spent a lot of time thinking about my business and where i wanted it to go, what would be satisfying creatively, but also what would feel fulfilling on a deeper level.

 

as time wore on, i began to see more and more clearly how this shared experience has effected certain folks much differently and much more drastically, than others. i hold a lot of privilege in the way i move in this world, but less than some others; something i've long been aware of. but i could see the disparity in sharpened, elevated ways during the last few year- the disparity between myself and those holding more privilege than me, and the disparity between myself and those with less.

 

i also noticed in myself and those around me, the effect of these long years on our view of self. some found deeper understanding and tenderness. others felt a growing disconnect. some found grace in time to self-reflect and self-connect. others struggled with the loneliness of missing their found-families. some of us, probably most of us, went through waves of all of these things. 

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as restrictions lifted, the need for social and creative interaction felt like a priority. two years without a traditional wedding-to-off-season cycle had left me feeling in a perpetual-off-season limbo and i was eager to get back behind my camera, but also to get back in front of folks- interacting, creating, connecting. i wanted to hear people's stories and experiences–were they like mine? were they different? how? why? i wanted to capture a documentation of this time of inwardness in myself and others. i wanted to meet and re-meet new people and old friends in a way that i couldn't over coffee or a walk in the park. i wanted to share a lonely thing and make it less lonely. i wanted to be a vessel, an ear, an eye, a mirror, a response.

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kin is still figuring itself out, still in its infancy, still evolving and will hopefully continue to evolve. watch this space.