Jennifer Shaw, the coordinator of the annual PhotoNOLA festival and a mainstay NOPA member, is profiled this week at Lenscratch, a blog dedicated to contemporary photography. The blog notes that she is “the heart and soul of PhotoNOLA,” but focuses less on her role there as it does her photographic work.
More specifically, the blog features Shaw’s series about parenthood, “The Space Between.”
This series evolved from an earlier–and more celebrated, Lenscratch notes–project of Shaw’s, “Hurricane Story.” The latter told the story of her giving birth while evacuating from New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina, via macro shots of toys and models, with all shots taken with a medium format Holga camera. The new series features her flesh-and-blood children, however, not plastic stand-ins.
Of the newer series, Shaw says:
This ongoing series is about childhood, but it is also about the complexities of being a parent. While my two sons and their circle of friends navigate the playgrounds of their world, I watch with camera poised, balanced between protection and permission.
Motherhood is the hardest job I have ever had. Photography allows me to embrace the chaos and connect with my children. As they explore the elements with carefree abandon, I marvel at their intensity and document them in all their wild glory. These images chronicle the adventure, traversing the spaces between shadow and light, delight and despair, dreams and reality.
To see other selections from the series, please see the Lenscratch post on Shaw and her work.
Image: “Jump,” from “The Space Between,” by Jennifer Shaw.