It's Always Spring Break In Heaven
I have always thought of my pictures like a photo diary (Tumblr circa 2014 forever!) That is to say: an attempt at recording my own life and my feelings.
As an adult, it’s been a great challenge to translate the easy, free-wheeling approach from my youth into a sturdy art practice. When I was first starting out, I was always hanging around my friends and family - laying in big piles together on the bed, running around the yard, taking risks together. Then when I graduated college I moved to a new place and I was suddenly without community. The way I shoot now emerged from trying to figure out how to make intimate photographs when I felt very lonely. Making this type of work is my best defense against the pain of living under alienated capitalism.
The goals of my practice mimic the goals of my life. I want to connect with others and the earth. I want to be more free in my body. I rarely take a photo of something because I want to criticize it or obscure it. I make photos of things to honor them and to point out their beauty.
Marisa Chafetz