What does sadness look like? This photo series was inspired by me realizing that I was melancholic for an extended period of time. This is something my generation often experiences and the stigma associated with depression makes it a topic that is often overlooked because it’s difficult to identify. I wanted to try and capture this process of being at your lowest point and transitioning to feeling better.

I sought out to recreate this by taking pictures of friends after asking a series of questions from a depression self-assessment I found online. Before taking the first  photo, I had them close their eyes and asked them to think back to their mindset at the time of their lowest-darkest point. I then asked them to open their eyes and captured the first shot in the series. Second, we did a coping mechanism of their choosing; whether that was listening to music, smoking a cigarette, drinking wine, doing yoga, etc. Capturing before, during and after this activity. Lastly, I researched what activity produced the most serotonin and dopamine and discovered it was physical contact, so I gave each subject a massage for 10 minutes and took a picture of them after the massage.

 The results of this project revealed that everyone has experienced a level of melancholy, one way or another. The importance of capturing these emotions I believe will normalize the subject of depression and prevent it from remaining hidden. This photo series reminds us that no matter how sad we may be, we are not alone.