Reclaiming Her - The Photo Archive

The story
At its core, Reclaiming Her is rooted in the belief that our insecurities are shaped not only by external standards, but also by how we relate to one another. As part of the patriarchal system, women have often been each other's harshest critics—taught to compare, to compete, to tear down rather than build up. But what if we chose to cultivate kind, validating, and compassionate relationships instead? What if we celebrated one another, accepted each other as we are, and created a culture of support instead of scrutiny? Perhaps then, our relationships to ourselves—and to the world—would be radically different. Reclaiming Her is rooted in that belief: that healing begins with empathy, and that kindness and connection are radical acts in a system that thrives on our disconnection.

Reclaiming Her began as a personal journey to heal body image struggles and reclaim wholeness. As the project was shared, it sparked a ripple effect—women saw themselves reflected and felt called to share their own stories. What began as one voice became a collective movement, shaping the photo archive and jewelry collection through shared strength and vulnerability.


The photo archive and the book
The photo archive is conformed by over 100 women, aged 20 to 80, who participated in a vulnerable and transformative ritual: photographing the parts of their bodies or parts of womanhood they’ve struggled to love, composing them as something beautiful, and sharing their personal stories. It is a visual and emotional mural that affirms we are not alone in our experiences, inviting us to take a step back and see that our stories are part of the collective impact of a system that doesn't want us to thrive.

The photo archive began with a question: What happens when we look at the parts of ourselves we’ve been taught to hide—slowly, softly, and on our own terms? Each participant was invited to engage in a deeply personal and intimate ritual. Alone, in their own space, they prepared the environment—choosing lighting, background, and the framing of the image—as a way of reclaiming agency over how they are seen. They photographed the parts of their bodies they’ve struggled to accept: thighs, bellies, breasts, wrinkles, scars, asymmetries. These images were not captured for critique or display, but as a way to witness oneself with presence and care. The act of photographing was not only aesthetic—it was a moment of confrontation, vulnerability, and often, release.
Alongside the images, each woman recorded a voice message reflecting on her relationship with the part of herself she chose to photograph. These testimonies range from painful to tender, from rage to resilience, and they form a sonic layer that accompanies the visual one. Some share memories of the first time they were shamed, others speak about motherhood, illness, aging, or desire. Each story becomes a fragment of a larger chorus—a collective, intergenerational wound laid bare, not for pity but for recognition. What emerged is not just an archive of images, but a living tapestry of emotional memory, where individual pain becomes a site for communal reflection, and where beauty is redefined through honesty and shared experience.

The book is a compendium of all the stories shared in depth, as well as personal experiences and reflections, as well with a collaboration with multiple women who each shared her interpretation of what was the experience of embodying being woman, through poetry, art, painting, music, photography, collage, etc. Inviting people to dive deeper into questioning and observing their own experiences as well as the collective ones.