I’m very excited to introduce Soft Animal, the first work from a new series of 35mm photographs I’ve been developing in the darkroom.

These silver gelatin prints feel like a shift for me. Much of my previous work has explored the constructed image — beauty, artifice, performance and the ways we create and project an image of ourselves. With these new photographs, I’m interested in something quieter: turning inwards and allowing some of that outer construction to fall away.

With her eyes closed and surrounded by flowers, the figure becomes partly obscured and intertwined with the natural world. There is a sense of vulnerability and absorption — a space between the inner and outer self.

The title comes from Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese: “You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.” I love the simplicity of this idea — of allowing ourselves to return to something instinctive, physical and natural.

Personally I am very much enjoying the womb-like surroundings of the darkroom, as well as the sense of play and experimentation it affords me. The silence, the red light and the impossibility of rushing the process allow me to slow down and pay attention. I’m learning to let the process unfold naturally, leaving room for discovery and surprise — and allowing each print to reveal something slightly different.

Each print has been hand-printed in the darkroom, allowing subtle variations to emerge through the printing process. Although part of a variable edition of five, each print is unique.