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The Skinny People Eat [ ] Project started in July 2011. A weekly head shot documents the changes. It continues to this day.
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THE SKINNY PEOPLE EAT [ ] PROJECT
We all struggle in life. My struggle has been about my body. I became overweight at the age of 6 and spent almost 4 decades feeling trapped inside. I felt sorrow and shame more deeply around this topic than any other thing.
I didn’t need to feel that way. It didn’t help me and it doesn’t help anyone. This is a struggle. There is no shame.
I wanted to change it but I didn’t know how. I had tried and failed so many times. I finally had an idea, I needed to make it art.
The SPE[] journey illustrates a transformation. Food is a drug and we all take it. Understand the input.
The photographs prove out our greatest fears. We need to eat healthy food to have a healthy body. The truth is nobody knows exactly what that means and for who. Society also has to acknowledge the limitations to this lifestyle and the moral implications of ensuring that all citizens have access to these choices. We aren’t there yet.
I took my camera and I decided to bear witness to my struggle. I thought that witness could help others too. The art work is about how the inputs in our food and life affect the output of how we look and feel. As time has gone on, I have discovered that the struggle doesn’t go away, it just changes. You never actually reach a goal but you change your life. It’s subtle and slow. It’s not the way they tell us it is. It’s ongoing and ever evolving.
I no longer struggle. This is about being comfortable, healthy, and happy. I’m lucky to have such choice. I want that for others too.
This is my story. My only hope is that my witness to this story helps you too.
The Skinny People Eat [ ] Project is a body of work from artist and photographer Jennifer Bohmbach. It continues to evolve as a fluid body of work with many components. The work began in July 2011 and continues to this day.
I take photos of all the food that I eat as part of the ongoing body of work. This documentation started in July of 2011. This collage includes all of the food eaten from the first day until July 31, 2011 which was the last day of the month I started the project. I am still photographing all of my food as of April 2023.
The Skinny People Eat [ ] Story 