People’s stories fascinate me.

As a child, I lost myself in profile stories from my dad’s yellow-outlined National Geographic magazine collection. Reading them, I often felt like I was bearing witness to holy truth-telling between the writer, photographer, and subject. As I read the accounts of early Christian martyrs like Perpetua, Felicitas, and Blandina, I experienced that same connection. I wondered how I could preserve such powerful, formational stories and translate them artistically for a modern audience.

During this project, I had the immense privilege of listening to stories of nine incredibly resilient women. I chose to tell their stories through black and white portraiture because I could turn up the contrast (quite literally) while coming in close. My own style of poetry is rather meditative and gutsy, so I used that to weave together elements of tragedy, beauty, and wisdom.

I came away from this project in awe of the women’s generosity and vulnerability and affirmed in my belief that we all carry hidden resilience within our bodies.

“Martyrs in Monochrome: the Witness of Women, Christian Resilience, and Photopoetry” is an Integrative Project in Theology and the Arts (IPIAT) created to fulfill my Master’s in Theology and the Arts at Regent College (Vancouver, BC).

Water in Her Tender Leaves is the photopoetry book created from this project. Available April 9.