Natalie Cunningham, Ablution (PORTRAIT 2023)

The Ablution series expresses the paradigm of the journey to self acceptance and inner peace by exploring the necessity of overcoming repressed trauma as part of the process. Ablution explores the initial anguish and resistance as we fear vulnerability, as shown in the first image. This natural human response is based on self preservation due to uncertainty after a life time of masking and suppression. As we progress through the journey we learn to trust the process, which is shown in the second image as the subject relaxes into herself and the water. It’s significance is held in the final image with the idea that being able to succumb to ourselves and expose our vulnerabilities cleanses us from our inner turmoil. I chose water and the concept of ablution due to the notion of “cleansing” and I deliberately chose a vantage point and strong midday lighting to take advantage of the reflective web like appearance of the water, as if the subject’s inner demons were being revealed and released. The depth and dimension of this concept meant that a monochromatic approach was appropriate to the narrative.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.