Salma Bensalim

As a person, my thoughts are often chaotic. I’m consistently jumping from one project to the next. This being said, my photography resembles the complete opposite. This body work is personal, coherent, and euphoric. With each black and white photograph, there is a deeper level of intimacy, allowing the viewer to bond with the subject. The increase, in contrast, is supposed to convey the stillness of emotion within each photograph and the series collectively.

The two-color pieces represent stillness in a different form. Rather than represent intimacy, the pieces show a twisted reality. While there is emotion in my color photographs, it isn’t as enforced as the black and white are; this is intentional as well. As a whole, this particular series aims to demonstrate themes, such as self-care, while also teaching the viewer about their emotions and mentality. While these photographs upon initial viewing are straight forward, they also present a facade.

Inspired by the thought-provoking works of photographers such as Garry Winogrand, Andre D. Wagner, Richard Sandler, and Tyler Mitchell, my goal for this series was to capture a moment of genuine vulnerability with the people I feel close with. This particular theme is captured through S. Mcnutt's quote, “Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Fall in love with the path of deep healing. Fall in love with becoming the best version of yourself, but with patience, with compassion and respect to your own journey.” Keeping this quote in mind, through a commitment to my photos and subjects, I was able to develop an emotional and mental journey of self-love and the process of putting yourself first. Alternatively, through these same themes, I was able to demonstrate the result of not taking care of one’s self.