By Emma Camps
Artist’s Statement: This piece is a digital photomontage created from photographs taken by and of the artist and their partner, featuring prominently their initials. This simple phrase holds great meaning to the artist, someone well acquainted with being “hard” or “too complicated” to love. Every element of this piece represents a part of their relationship over the course of almost four years together, and the color scheme is derived from a shared pride in bi+ identity. The interwoven textures of live oak trees with Spanish moss, a tender kiss, a moment of mourning, a beloved sleeping terrier puppy, saved sidewalk musings, and lunchtime love notes form the knit of a shared life together, embody tangible unconditional love.
Additional Information: When I met my current romantic partner, I had so many expectations of what I thought my ideal and most compatible love might be like. After a previous terrible relationship, I was convinced I could only ever be truly seen and accepted by a woman or another trans-identifying person. But as cliché as it sounds, love really does find you when you least expect it.
We found each other, became friends, then roommates out of convenience, and stepped onto a path of undeniable connection that neither of us expected. Little did we know how much we had to share, including being bisexual. I’ve known since I was a teen, and he was questioning when we met, but confirmed his suspicions as I slowly let down my walls and allowed him to see me as I really am. Every time I thought my non-conforming gender would be a dealbreaker, too much, or too mannish, he never cared and only loved me deeper for my complexities.
Though I am comforted and held by our shared experiences, I am also grateful for our differences and willingness to meet in the middle. We may be different races, different faiths, different abilities, different genders, but when you love someone, all of those differing identities become opportunities. We are blessed to have so many opportunities to know one another deeper, celebrate together, mourn together, and to further contextualize our individual points of view through a shared lens. That is what makes up our shared fabric, love, and its many opportunities for growth.
Emma Camps is a disabled queer multimedia artist based in Savannah, Georgia, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Wheeling, West Virginia, in the U.S. Emma’s work is influenced by experiences in the Appalachian region, as a mixed-Asian American growing up in a multicultural family. They enjoy the challenge of using unexpected materials in mixed-media collage work, often including found objects, print packaging, illustration, and typographical elements. Their works embody the aesthetic influences of their life, including traditional Chinese and Taiwanese art, western Chinoiserie, American pop culture, and the natural world.