2024 – Ongoing Description: Created during long, meandering walks through the Ahr Valley and rural western Germany, Grim is a dark fantasy and allegory. The story goes: Once, a child lived in a white house on a hill above the forest. The house was cold and grew colder each year. Below, the deep forest called—softly, then louder: “Come closer. We are waiting.” She resisted, but as winters deepened, the call became irresistible. She left the house and stepped into the forest where the sun touched leaves only as a thought. On the third day, she met a god beyond human law who said: “Give me your spine, and in your next life, you will be blessed.” She agreed. The god took her spine and planted it where blood met leaves. This story—this whole story—is the dream the spine dreams as it is planted. Faces. Creatures. Spirits. Sometimes near, sometimes far. The spine dreams. This project is that dream. Five goals: Produce 30–40 new images continuing Grim. Travel to Schwarzwald to photograph new landscapes. Work through winter, using snow to extend the visual language. Refine the selection, editing, and sequencing of the full body of work. Exhibit Grim and prepare it for publication and future exhibitions. Project Approach: I use analogue photography to capture, construct, and rephotograph images. Funding will cover film, materials, development, travel to natural locations, and supplies for layering images. This support ensures the project’s careful, ongoing growth.
