Mangal

The connections between femininity and nature are a recurring curiosity of mine. Being a feminine-presenting person, I feel part of a community reflecting a strength, interconnectedness, and an intricacy embodied by nature. The ways that people treat the natural world reveal their respect or lack thereof for others. 

A mangal is the grouping of roots which comprises a mangrove forest biome. Mangrove trees act as nurseries for ocean animals, protect the land from severe storms, and can adapt to unlivable conditions. These trees create a harmony vital to their ecosystem - which is actively being destroyed. My project explores life and death, delicacy and harshness, and the ways that a balanced cycle is reliant on several interconnected relationships. By inserting myself in a gentle manner, these images also serve as a reflection on my own connectedness to nature.