ARTIST STATEMENT | AMIYAH BOLDER
My work explores the intersection of identity, imperfection, and natural beauty through the lens of Conceptual Photography. Drawing from my own experience living with a venous malformation, I use photography and mixed media to examine what it means to be “different”; both in the human body and in nature. I’m interested in how society defines beauty and how those definitions can marginalize visible differences. In my images, I highlight irregularities that might otherwise be dismissed as flaws by some and alluring to others. Whether this is a diseased leaf, a scar-like pattern, or hints of color that stand out from their surroundings, I capture and reframe them as symbols of strength, growth, and individuality. This approach draws from theories of the psychology of perception, questioning how we decide what is worthy of admiration or discomfort.
Photography allows me to explore these tensions with vulnerability and intimacy. Allowing me the capability to depict a message through careful control of light, depth, and focus. After capturing the subject, I meticulously isolate textures, surfaces, and details that echo the organic patterns of veins, skin, natural decay, and unique characteristics during the editing process. Color operates as an emotional and psychological lens throughout my work. The reoccurring shades of purple and blue are not only symbolic of my birthmark but are intentionally used to compel the viewer to see through that same lens, to feel what it’s like to move through the world marked by an anomaly that can’t be hidden. These hues become both a reflection of lived experience and an act of reclamation and awareness. Ultimately, my art invites viewers to reconsider what they perceive as imperfect, to reconsider their perceptions of beauty and difference and challenges them to “accept”, to see difference not as deviation, but as a natural and vital expression of life itself. Furthermore, looking beyond socially constructed stigmas and viewing one another with the same reverence and openness we offer to nature, leading with the acceptance and curiosity we bring to the natural world.
