Introducing Queer Yearning: a study of hands and sapphic relationships

I invited 10 sapphic individuals into my studio for a months duration and took portraits of their hands staged with and without various props. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul but for many queer people, the hands play an important role in the subtitles of attraction and self expression. Each person’s hands tell a story of how they love and want to be loved. 

I released a very special personal project but wanted it to live beyond digital and incorporate it with my love of vintage. This is my own spin on the lovers eye locket of the early 1800s. The goal then was that the eye would be recognizable only to the recipient and could, therefore, be worn publicly keeping the lover's identity a secret, which felt very relevant to me and my own coming out story. The goal of the project was to emulate that notion in hands playing a similar important role in lesbian love, yearning, and identity. Lockets were 1 of 1 and sold online and at local artists markets for the duration of summer 2023.