Joelle Jensen

Nesting
This new series of photographs, created using a large format camera and 4 x 5 film, is called Nesting. It is a term I heard frequently during my pregnancy. It refers to a parent’s need to prepare for the arrival of a new child. By shredding family photographs and re-purposing them to create these nests, my process mirrors my experiences preparing for the birth of my son. The nests are the visual equivalents of the destruction/creation dichotomy that occurs during the transformation into parenthood. The nests double as creatures –- just like a pregnant woman's belly represents both a safe haven, and the new creature inside. The series reflects on the need to nest –- to prepare to welcome a new family member –- and the items, the physical body and sense of one’s self that are transformed, destroyed and re-purposed in this process.