Sara Allen

Artist Statement

In her late ’70s, Sara began exploring ways of photographing her aging body. Curious about the changes often seen as unattractive, she found that the creases, folds, bumps and spots were an interesting landscape, often strange but also beautiful. She sought to express the interior emotions evoked by this changing landscape: what transformations do wrinkled necks and faces, arthritic fingers, rounded torsos and thighs create, and how can photography show those feeling? What does it feel like to understand that one is “growing down” towards the end of life? What does it feel like to explore one’s mortality face to face? What strengths does she discover as she continues growing as a woman?