Jennifer Thoreson, Photographer

Artist Statement

Medic is a sensitive, intricate glimpse into human relationships during times of need and recovery, and a heartfelt exploration of sacrificial love. I have been fortunate to know incredible love all my life. I am intensely aware of the magnificent power that exists between people who care for one another. During a frightening time in my life, when I was anxious and fighting to fall asleep each night, I began to invent miracle machines; contraptions that heal, deliver hope, legacy, remedy, and redemption. Each image from Medic is a thoughtful invention, strange and tender, revealing facets of the delicate human heart.

In ten isolated chambers we are witnesses to emotional happenings, exchanges, confrontations, and life decisions. I became particularly fascinated with illustrating the depth of a love relationship by portraying only the individual in many images, exploring the weight of partnership, the sacrificial life perspective, and the burdened, selfless decision-maker. In some chambers, we witness life changing moments; mercy, healing, humbling choices, memories recorded and legacies written. In others we see an exchange; affection, tenderness, and sacrifice. In the making of this work, I sought to begin to understand some of the most rare and beautiful relationships in the world, to expose their most frail, vulnerable moments, times of great intensity, and most cherished inner workings.

Medic is a dark and sentimental collection of stories about great tests in life, purpose, and the most painful, but also the most glorious times to love.

Extraction

Extraction

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Messenger

Messenger

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Safekeeping

Safekeeping

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Negotiator

Negotiator

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Mercy

Mercy

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Concession

Concession

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Manna

Manna

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Prophet

Prophet

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Legacy

Legacy

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011

Borrowed Time

Borrowed Time

From the series Medic, 10”x10”, pigment ink on bamboo fiber rag, 2011