Over the last year, my mother endured countless invasive and painful procedures after a doctor discovered multiple cysts during a mammogram.

One morning, my mother complained of a deep ache emanating from her breasts. She was visiting a physician later that day and wanted me to help her indicate the origin of her pain.

Tenderly holding a black pen in one hand, and holding her shirt with the other, she laid a delicate trail of marks across her chest. The dark spots constellated across her skin, unveiling the cosmos within her cysts. She showed me her pain, and I saw the stars. Origins is a recollection of my personal history, where I use the camera to recreate my most potent memories experienced with my family. They reflect a present interpretation of preceding events— a fiction conjured from my truth. My photographs submit to the malleable nature of memory, and describe how personal relationships are impacted by suppressed familial tragedies.

Instead of idealizing and concealing my family history, I attempt to highlight the disparity and emotional distance we previously endured.The resulting narrative marks an attempt to demonstrate my longing for familial intimacy and reconciliation.This is a collaboration amongst loved ones: a willingness to emspathize with one another, share our personal experiences, renegotiate interpersonal strife, and outwardly demonstrate our underlying affection for one another.

About Rachel Jump

Rachel Jump was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1991. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2014, where she was the recipient of the Harry Koorejian Memorial Scholarship and the Haining Family Scholarship. Her black and white photographs have been widely exhibited throughout the United States, which includes dnj Gallery in Los Angeles, Tilt Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, Texas Women’s University of the Arts in Denton, Texas, Filter Space in Chicago, and Lomography Gallery in New York. Rachel’s photographs were the subject of a solo exhibition at Alibi Fine Art Gallery in 2015. Her prints are held in collections at the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the RISD Museum. She was a FIELD/WORK artist-in-residence at the Chicago Artists Coalition from 2016—2017. Rachel’s work has also been featured in various publications, including Der Greif, i-D Vice Germany, Shots Magazine, LENSCRATCH, FotoRoom, Fraction Magazine, and Papersafe.  [Official Website]