I am both the casualty and consequence of many dichotomies.
I remain whole, yet I am simultaneously divided, torn between the very things that bind me: between the reality of adulthood and the image of it; between my need to grow roots and my desire to travel; between the desire for independence and the longing for another; between the diverse and persuasive avenues of the heart; between the meaning of transience, sporadic despondency, and the search for inspiration.
My photographs seek to summon and bring together these opposites, relocating my personal experience to a place between multiple and varied psychological states.
The photographs from An Indecisive Moment attempt to locate the specific rhythm and buried consciousness of a particular moment in time, while communicating the feminine experience on the threshold of adulthood. Working with dancers from major New York dance companies, the project is largely concerned with the meaning and experience of womanhood in today’s unstable, fragmented world—specifically, how women are able to reconcile the modern female archetype with the reality of their personal experiences.
Borrowing from Victor Turner’s idea of liminal space, the photographs take place in abandoned settings, often man-made structures being reclaimed by their natural surroundings. These transitional places provide the opportunity to position the feminine experience on a literal threshold between what once was and what is about to be.
While given some direction, the dancers mostly draw from their own personal experiences and the immediacy of their environment to create their performances, which I then document. This allows the work to function on multiple levels, both personal and universal, as we work together to create a unique portrait of womanhood on the brink.
In essence, An Indecisive Moment attempts to reconcile the reality of womanhood with the image of it, while moving toward a renewed interest in beauty, aesthetics, and personal symbolism. Resulting from a unique collaboration, art was not the goal but rather the occasion and the method for telling our story.
A complex narrative, the project wrestles with a wide range of themes: sexuality, anger, love, death, beauty, and fear, and it does so openly and without self-consciousness. Henri Cartier-Bresson once said that there is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment. Perhaps this is our own.
About Haley Jane Samuelson
Haley Jane Samuelson was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, until the age of thirteen, when her family relocated to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was there that she first fell in love with photography.
She currently lives and works in New York City, where she is represented by Hous Projects Gallery. Her work has been exhibited at art fairs around the world, including Photo LA, Photo Miami, and Art Basel.
In June 2009, Samuelson held her first solo exhibition in New York City, Another Room, which was well received and attracted significant attention, including a short review in The New Yorker by Vince Aletti.
Her work has also been published in several international magazines, including Zoom Magazine, Oxford American, Photo France, and Korea Photo+, among others. [Offcial Website]
