Daily Reprieve

I use handmade pinhole cameras made from repurposed liquor bottles to photograph the people, places, objects, and moments that make up my life in recovery. The bottles are a reminder of where I came from, but they have also become a way for me to document where I am now. The work is about the concept of daily reprieve, the idea that recovery from addiction is not one defining moment, but something I have to choose every day.

The pinhole process is slow, imperfect, and unpredictable. That is part of why I am drawn to it. The photographs do not always look the way I expect them to, and I like that they leave room for uncertainty. The people and places I photograph are part of my life now, but I know that I may look back at them years from now and remember them differently, as I do my memories in addiction. In that way, the photographs are not just records of what happened. They are records of who I was at that particular moment.

For me, sobriety is built through ordinary things: being present, staying connected, being vulnerable, paying attention, and continuing to show up. There is no single point where recovery is finished. It is one day, and then another.

The bottles I once spent every day with, containing something I could not control, now create photographs of the people, places, and moments that help me live a life I can.