<Trash is the inspiration>
The instructions for this assignment were to go out and photograph trash. As I thought out different ideas of concepts that I could use, I happened to be changing my insulin pump. Being a Type 1 Diabetic and having the disease for most of my life, I rarely have to think of the steps I take every day to treat my blood sugar. I’ve been trying to be proud of this part of myself and gain inspiration through it rather than hiding it away.
I decided to photograph the trash that is produced from one individual site change, a routine that I no longer put much thought into but recently realized the trash produced in this process. The process produces an immense amount of unrecyclable waste, especially as I have to replicate this process every three days.
In the image, you can see empty medication vials, insertion devices, and bloody alcohol swabs used to clean the insertion sites. This image is important to me becuase I rarely think about the disease that many people use as a defining characteristic for me. I used to hide this part of me away and I think by photographing the realities of it is a big step in accepting this part of me while not making it something that is used as a defining feature.