Processing the Big Pause

This series is about the reflection and introspection needed in response to the uncertainty and confusion due to the events of 2020. My home in Portland, Oregon was a hotbed of action due to lockdowns, closures, protests, and fires. The city’s facade I normally photograph changed drastically with a constant rotation of boards, signs, messages, murals, graffiti, and smoke. I could feel these messages from the streets…the emotion, pain, the calls for help…but also so many calls for hope, support, listening, learning, love, and awareness. As I walked in the city, and through deep reflection at home about my own experience, I was pulled to process, witness, listen, and document what I felt through this photomontage work.