Cradle, 2024

Cradle is a manifestation of vulnerability, care, and the emotional sanctuaries created through intimate connections and collective experiences. This work reimagines my self-discovery as a lesbian woman, framed through a radical, imaginative lens. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s theory of Queer Phenomenology, which critiques the unnoticed integration of oppression in everyday life, my project examines the intersections of space and identity while fostering reflection on safe spaces and the intimacy they nurture.

Rather than focusing on physical spaces, Cradle explores the emotional sanctuaries born from vulnerability and empathy within relationships, where discomfort and fear transform into unbreakable bonds of strength and resilience. At its core, Cradle is both a heartwarming reflection and a deep-rooted response to the systemic oppression queer women face, fueled by ongoing injustices like restrictive legislation, political rhetoric, and societal scrutiny. This project challenges traditional notions of femininity, proposing a dynamic that transcends nurturing to embody resilience, defiance, and empowerment. Through this lens, I explore how queer acts and desires can exist outside societal norms, using radical imagination to reclaim freedom and create spaces where queerness is fully seen and celebrated.

To the next me
I wish you freedom in your love
I wish you comfort in your courage
That your sanctuaries may be met with care

To the next me,

I hope you find your dreamland

Where your joy is not a quiet rebellion,

but that pain is met with purpose

you cradle one another

Not in weakness,

But in power

Here, the confines of self flood into the infinite

Vulnerability becomes the root

Resilience, the soil

Where the tendrils of your wholeness may bloom