Artist Statement

   Behind this photo, I wanted to touch upon ownership of non-physical things; words. Promises that become permanent on an individual, promises of love or friendship or loyalty, promises of wealth and possessions, etc. My models are both revealing their arms only and have ‘I promise’ written up and down each arm to symbolize the many promises they have made and have received. These promises are tattooed permanently on the arms to represent the permanency words have on a human, something said cannot automatically be taken back and promises broken still remain with the individual who was harmed or who made that promise.

   Showing simply and man and woman gives it more of an anonymous sense to keep the identity unknown because promises are made and received every day and it is not to just one type of person, everyone experiences this. I also made the photo harsher contrast with black and white because it emphasizes the words on the skin. My two characters are connecting their arms/making physical contact with each other to show the vulnerability you can have with another person when you talk and make promises or give them trust at their word. I shot it on a sheet instead of a plain background purely because I liked how it looked with the relaxed arms on a bed instead of nothing.

   If I could change something within the photo, I would want to figure out how to make the tattoos less visible because I can see the outlines where the tattoos meet the skin which was difficult to hide. Also, I would like to have put more arms or make them fill the page without the negative space.