. I’ve always been curious about scars. I notice them on strangers, and wonder how they got them and the narrative behind that tear of the flesh. The idea that our bodies serve as a map of our lives is one that fascinates me. What stories lie behind these present reminders of events from our past? A few months ago, my mother called me with some devastating news regarding her health. The days after that news had me thinking almost incessantly about Sonder – The profound realization that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, have a life as complex as your own that you will never know about. I was at the grocery store, buying bananas and thinking how strange it was that I had received such hard news that morning, and no one knew it. What other things were going on in the lives of those strangers wandering the market? What scars – emotional or physical, map our lives? From this collision of thoughts came MEND; an ongoing project that explores scars and the people and stories behind them. To mend is an intentional bringing together. It is not perfect, it is functional. It’s rich with nuance and pain, tragedy and triumph, flesh torn and mended, and a perfect picture of the resilience of the human spirit. The stories I was entrusted with were a gift to me. I hope you find them equally as beautiful as I did. .