Jaime Johnson

Untamed | Poet Mary Oliver stated, “I think when we lose the connection with the natural world, we tend to forget that we're animals, that we need the Earth. And that can be devastating.” Set in the swamps and woods of Mississippi and Louisiana, my work depicts a fabricated story of a feral woman who roams and exists in the wild. As a contemporary female artist, my portrayal of her character as a strong woman counteracts stereotypical depictions of the feminine as domesticated and delicate. Similar to Cindy Sherman's method of working, I serve as both the director and model of the shoot, utilizing the element of performance to articulate humankind's capacity to decay as a marker of our identity--an identity balanced on the edge of ruin and transcendence.

The cyanotype process shifts focus from potentially colorful landscapes and figures to patterns, textures, and the relationships of forms within the images. Tea-staining the prints dulls the blue and adds warmth, mimicking earth tones. Printing on thin Japanese paper
adds translucence and gives the prints a feeling of fragility. My work seeks a connection and shared experience with nature during times in which society is becoming removed from the natural world. www.jaimejphotography.com