POP: Can you describe what first compelled you to photograph breast cancer survivors?
I never intended to shoot The SCAR Project. It evolved very organically after a dear young friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within two weeks she’d had a mastectomy. She was 28. A beautiful, strong, young woman. I had taken her picture a thousand times, since she was 17. I saw her soon after her surgery and knew I would have to shoot her again.
I took the picture because, perhaps, as a photographer, taking pictures is my way of confronting, understanding, and accepting the things I see.
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POP: You have been a fashion photographer for over a decade. As opposed to creating hyper-idealized portrayals of women, you spent the last few years capturing the physical imperfections of breast cancer survivors for The SCAR Project. Did this prove challenging?
I struggled shooting The SCAR Project. I was torn. I wanted the pictures to be raw, honest, sincere. Yet I knew why the subjects had come—they wanted something beautiful. They had already suffered greatly and although I desperately wanted to serve them, I knew in my heart that compromising the visual integrity of The SCAR Project for the sake of easily digested beauty would serve no one. Certainly not the people I hoped to be impacted by the images, the public at large who remain blissfully unaware of the risk or reality of this disease… anesthetized by pink ribbons and fluffy, pink teddy bears.