What does it mean to belong? How does
our personal identity change when we
become part of a larger group? How do our chosen friends reinforce our own qualities?

This 36 foot-long photo-montage explores
the facets of personal identity and what it
means to belong. The notion of exclusive membership plays a critical role within the sorority system. Thus, this subject became a natural place to being my investigation. The young women belong to four sororities on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. The different colored backgrounds represent each sorority’s official color.

Utilizing a cubist aesthetic with my
arrangement of the images, I am creating junctures between sisters in addition to fragmenting and overlapping moments in
time. The empty but layered backgrounds
hint at the bygone generations of women
that have come before, the future members who will join and the individuals who were rejected from the group.

A visual fusion within a portrait may symbolize merging identities, strength gained through friendship, or a longing for that connection.

The editing process was highly subjective.
I choose these women’s portraits from hundreds I took in the process. Body language and groupings are not sorority specific, but instead reflect the larger questions of identity, vulnerability, connection, acceptance,
defense, support, exclusion, and inclusion.

The text excerpts are taken from the book
that accompanies the photographs. During my inquiry I gave questionnaires to the women. I asked them about their motivation to join, why they feel they were chosen, the role the sorority plays in their life, how it has affected their sense of identity, and what Belonging means to
them. The answers were given
anonymously.

*Please scroll to the right.