hey folks, have you heard kesha’s new song “praying?” more importantly, have you seen sasha velour’s performance to it? these two things are very important to the meat of this post so if you haven’t experienced both, go do that. i’ll wait.

the combo of these two things created an extremely emotional environment inside me and usually when that happens i have to push the feelings out. specifically, this song makes me feel so weak and so strong at the same time. it reminds me of my abusive partner, it reminds me of my sexual assault, it reminds me of my brother’s death. it reminds me that i have fought and hurt and worn so close to the bone, and still survived. it makes me want to scream and bawl and explode.
i also really relate this song to some of my favorite mythical creatures, banshees. they’re celtic creatures who appear as women and warn of the death of a family member, though they can also predict death. their screaming or wailing is referred to as keening, and i feel like i’ve been doing it for months. so i called up my favorite creative partner, diana kelly and asked if she would help me with this concept, and of course she agreed. this shoot is a combination of anger and sadness and healing and i hope you like it.

 

 

 

 
you brought the flames and you put me through hell
i had to learn how to fight for myself

 

 

and we both know all the truth i could tell
 

 

 

i’ll just say this as i wish you farewell

 

 

i hope you’re somewhere praying
i hope your soul is changing

 

 i hope you find your peace
falling on your knees
praying

 

 

 

xx, k.