Written on the body, words like strength, hope, insecurity and alone evoke intimacy and a disarming honesty.
Such is the nature of photography at WooSah on Main with a new, largely black-and-white photo series titled "Scars" by Lissa Cochran, a Texarkana native whose work will be displayed through Aug. 20. There's a personal connection to the photos, explains the photographer, who now calls Austin home.
"I went through a really dark time in my life and in the healing process of this I was thinking about scars, and I had this idea to take pictures of people's scars," Cochran explained. "Originally, it was going to be actual scars on the body."
But when each person came to her studio, they related the story behind the scars, causing the project to evolve into something beyond what Cochran originally envisioned. There was a healing process for her subjects, too, she said.
"We took markers and wrote words that they felt about their experience," Cochran said. For example, one woman experienced scoliosis, another lost a brother to cancer and survived the disease herself. One theme is how pain can make us stronger.
Another woman is portrayed in a photo titled "Future Mrs. Misti." It represents the healing process that becoming engaged provided her so she could move forward from troubled times in her life. The wounds were more internal.
"They were all friends of mine," Cochran said.
She bonded with each subject during the shoots. She posted some photos as she went along, which stirred more interest. These friends are from Texarkana, and she took their photos when she lived here. She started doing photography in 2010.
"It was mainly I wanted to take good pictures of my kids," Cochran recalled. She began exploring new methods and then worked on candid shots, catching her subjects when they weren't posing, a moment where she caught the real person. For each session on this project, she took hundreds of photos.
"Where they were talking and moving around," Cochran said.
Other themes in these gritty yet beautiful photos include family and betrayal. The photographer favors black-and-white photos. "I feel like when we look at a picture in black-and-white, your mind has to fill in the blanks," Cochran said. "Nobody's telling you what color this is. Your perception can be whatever you want."
Described as a conceptual photo series, "Scars" works will be auctioned via silent auction to benefit other people who also possess serious scars. Auction funds will go to Mission 22, a non-profit group that strives to fight against veteran suicides through treatment programs, memorials and awareness.
Again, there's a personal connection to this cause because the photographer's father was a Vietnam veteran. She's worked with Mission 22 before. Also, she didn't feel comfortable selling these photos for personal profit.
It's Cochran's first show. She'd never printed any of her work like this before. "To see the artistic photography that I've done on display is really cool," she said. And to see the faces of onlookers as they reacted to her photographs during an opening? "It's very powerful."
Auction bids will start at $25, and they'll be posted online. Check the venue's Facebook page.
(More info: Check out WooSah on Main's page on Facebook. WooSah on Main is located at 419 Main St. in Texarkana, Texas.)