Laura Weeks loves to photograph people: her nephew, couples and families at strolling the fairgrounds of Salem, portraits of babies and ballerinas. Her pictures vary in theme and composition, but one thing they all have in common: her photos tell a story.
After a tour at the Rescue Mission, Weeks was inspired to learn more about the people there and their stories. She met with more than 50 people and took images of their hands, capturing so much emotion in the curves of fingers and the lines of skin. Those photos are now a part of her collection, “Project Hands: For the Stories We Hold,” which will show at the Alexander/Heath Contemporary in downtown Roanoke. The exhibit opens Friday, December 4. The collection was previously on display at 2nd Helpings.
While all of the photos tell incredible stories, a few stand out for Weeks. “Jasim’s story is one of my favorites,” she says. “He is a refugee from Iraq. He came to the US and left his wife and children behind. He wanted to build a life for himself and have his family join him.”
And then there are Joy and Shirlene. Joy, a hospice-care resident, suffered stage-four ovarian cancer. Her friend, Shirlene, became her caretaker. Unfortunately, Joy recently lost her battle to cancer, but not before she encouraged Weeks to share her collection with the community. Her exhibit at the Alexander/Heath is dedicated to Joy.
For more information about the collection and the artist, visit her websites, LauraAWeeks.com and StoriesWeHold.com.
