Got a Girl Crush on: Ella Barnes’ senior photography thesis “SHE”

SHE is a series of constructed images that visually translate stories of the contemporary experience of womanhood as told by real women. The use of organic matter in still-life compositions replaces the use of the female body as a vessel for meaning, thus focusing attention on the experiences of women instead of their bodies. The emphasis on the stories works in part to engage the viewer in an exercise of empathy as opposed to judgement.

Each story you read here was submitted by a woman in response to the question: how has the world shaped your understanding of womanhood? Some stories are sensitive in nature and could be possible triggers for those who have suffered from such challenges in the past. It is not my intention to paint a positive or negative image of contemporary womanhood; it is instead my hope to show an honest and undiluted portion of the experience of those who experience womanhood in its many and varied forms.

Ella is working on a book of this series and has prints available for sale.

View the full series on her site www.ellabarnesart.com