Honouring My Inner Child: Amy’s Story
Words by Amy
My love,
Where do i even begin...
To try to put this into words, let me try...
I have always feared being on the other side of the camera in this particular way, to forfeit my control and surrender it over to another and trust. A fear that my sharper angles and jagged edges don't translate well in photographs. I have known how to position myself in self portraits to accommodate for them, but this experience has altered everything. For the first time, Ive seen myself; the art, the poetry, the beauty, the ferocity, my strength, my softness, the tenderness, the power. Parts of me that I thought contradicted and conflicted coinciding into the frames. The images holding all of me.
Thank you for making this entire experience so sacred. I am so grateful to have this version of me immortalised. I see her courage, her love, her softness and fortitude and I am so thankful to be able to see her and witness her in these images.
“To the little girl who used to hang out by the sea, wishing that she’d get stolen away by mermaids. Who decorated her room with shells, trinkets and twinkling lights that made it feel like she had her own little grotto to curl up in. To the little girl who would sing to the waves and horizons and who would make friends of the sea creatures that clutched to the rocks...
I created this life with you in mind little one.
A place by the sea to call home.
Unwavering love that anchors you during your great storms.
The ability to ride waves (both literally and figuratively)
and the ability to venture into your depths without drowning in it.
A job that lets you create and play and move, that doesn’t make you sacrifice your sensitivity and intensity but instead is made more potent because of it.
The ability to regulate and resource, and the knowing that your ability to feel is a power not a curse.
I did it all for you, Little love. I hope you enjoy it here.
—— letters to my littlest self”
We planned our shoot to coincide with the new moon, making it feel quite magical. Amy took me to a unique spot on New Zealand’s West Coast—usually underwater but accessible only during a new moon at low tide. I’d never been there before, and being in that quiet, hidden place by the ocean felt truly unforgettable.
“When I saw this photo from my recent shoot with @oasiswithmae all I could see was that scene from little mermaid when Ariel washes up on the shore after growing her legs 🪸🐚🌊 the little version of me who would have absolutely freaked out if I saw this woman on the shore like this and I think If she saw this photo and knew it would be her one day, she would’ve said we had it perfect. For that reason alone it’s my new profile pic ✨ for her. always for her.”
