Identities of Adoption

As an adoptee myself, my body of work is about adult adoptees and their self-identity formation, along with the conditions that can cause an adoptee to have a nomadic self-identity. Or, a shift in their identity based on who they are with or their surroundings. This can stem from traumas that most adoptees seem to face in some way from being taken away from their biological family and raised by adopted families. At times, these adoptions take place with families that have a different race or cultural background from the adoptee, which can add to the chance they will face identity challenges. Adoption creates complicated familial relationships that can be hard to navigate, as most adoptees are never taught about the effects adoption could have on them, and the resources they can use to seek understanding. I use black and white medium format film to make portraits with adult adoptees as we talk about their adoption, and their self-identity. In some instances, double exposures of the film are used to help convey the possibility of a nomadic self-identity, wavering identity, or other marks being an adoptee can have on an individual. In these instances of double exposure, one exposure is taken in focus, while another is taken out of focus, which accounts for what can appear as a glowing or softening of an image. Final photographs are printed as large high-contrast images that convey mood, and a larger-than-life scale that forces the viewer to be confronted with these identities of adoption, and to make them think deeper into the practice of adoption, and its effects on those involved