Title: “Portrait of a Military Spouse”
Artist: Jennifer McKeen Rodrigues
Medium: Photography
Artist Statement: This “self-portrait” is influenced by the obscure street photographer Vivian Maier. The picture was taken in downtown Kansas City, MO, not at all a military town. It’s been given its title because I’ve obscured myself as a military spouse; it’s hard living this way of life when I don’t identify with the perceived role. I also feel it captures the feeling that mil spouses are very overlooked within the command and within society. But we can all do better for our military families.
Bio: Jennifer Rodrigues currently lives on the sacred Powhatan land of Fairfax, VA. She is trained as a certified yoga therapist & trauma informed yoga teacher, is a Reiki healer, military spouse, & mother to a creative daughter. She has been published in The MULESKINNER JOURNAL, TINY FRIGHTS, AMETHYST REVIEW, and THE MARTELLO REVIEW as either poet or photographer. She is currently polishing her memoirs for publication about the rare bone marrow disorder she survived during her childhood and teenage years.