THE BEAUTIFUL WEIGTH OF BEING
In this photograph, a veiled figure stands still on an empty beach, clutching a bouquet of bright balloons; symbols typically tied to joy, childhood, and lightness. Behind them, a colorful playground sits empty, echoing the innocence and movement of play. Yet the figure does not participate. They do not leap, laugh, or float. Instead, they remain grounded, anonymous, unmoved.
This piece confronts the expectations of joy and performance placed on bodies—particularly women’s bodies—and reclaims the right to simply be. To hold beauty, complexity, and contradiction without explanation or external validation.
The vibrant fabric, wrapped tightly around the figure, becomes both protection and declaration. It is emotion made visible—intensely present but not performative. The balloons, festive and weightless, pull in one direction, while the body chooses to stay rooted. This tension lies at the heart of the image: Can joy exist in stillness? Can celebration look like quiet defiance?
As the opening image in The Beautiful Weight of Being, it establishes the central inquiry of the series: What does it mean to choose presence in a world that demands performance?
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Printed on matte archival paper. Print is signed and printed with a 1.5" white border for framing. Frame is not included. Limited edition prints are numbered. Print is rolled and packed in tube packaging. All sales are final.
Larger images 30x40 and up are editions of 5
The sizing after 20x30 changes the size of the edition.
16x20 editions of 50
20x30 editions of 25
30x40 and larger editions of 3 +2 AP