Intimate Geographies, 2013

We traverse the bodily territory—skin— of others on a daily basis. In handshakes, hugs, touches, we cross over intimate geographies. These crossings figure as closeness; they constitute and reaffirm relationships. This photo project seeks to map these oft-traveled territories by treating the surfaces of the body (skin) as if they were topographical regions. I outline the terrain of those I love by creating photographic maps. As such, the task of geography comes into focus not as an objective and impersonal task, but a highly precise and personal one. I have taken hundreds of macro photographs of the skin of my family members, moving millimeter by millimeter, changing my angle in the tiniest increments to “map” the mountains, ravines, valleys, ledges, and other formations discovered on the surfaces of their bodies.

Funded by a grant from the Brown University Creative Arts Council.

Exhibited as a solo show in Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, March 2013.