Medical Impersonator
As a “medical impersonator” experimenting with gendered tropes of medical providers in my self-portraiture, I aim to disrupt the power dynamics between photographer and subject and reveal the parallel dynamics in the American medical system that harm both medical workers and patients. I have a particular interest in using self-portraiture to critique the expectation of self-surveillance placed on disabled people and to investigate the elements of performance both in how I navigate an ableist medical system and in the system itself. My work engages with the double-edged privilege of passing or masking—as straight and gender conforming, as non-disabled, as a professional—all within the confines of a photograph.
Self-Portrait (as Teen-Aged Hospital Volunteer), 2021, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A portrait of me, a white person, seated and wearing a white, short-sleeved 1960s dress and an apron with tiny pink and white stripes. My softly lit face is partially turned away from the camera to look upwards at something in the distance, and I am wearing soft pink eyeshadow as well as peach blush and lipstick. My fingernails have tiny red crosses on them which are visible as I pull a pair of trauma shears from my right apron pocket. My short brown hair is parted at the side in a mod style and there is a warm glow behind my head and shoulders that shines onto the light pink, chrysanthemum-patterned backdrop.]
Self-Portrait (of Your Favorite Nurse), 2021, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A portrait of me, a white person, looking sideways at the camera in front of a red background. I am standing with my weight on one hip and my back slightly arched, wearing a white bustier with decorative red bows and white crosses, as well as a matching miniskirt and red satin opera gloves. My eyes are surrounded by smoky red eyeshadow, and my nose and mouth are hidden by a white disposable mask. I am wearing a red nurse’s hat inspired headband in my short brown hair and am holding up a syringe of medication with my thumb ready on the plunger.]
Self-Portrait (with Large Pharmaceutical), 2021, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A vintage studio style portrait of me, a white person with slicked-back short brown hair, wearing a too-large brown suit jacket with a white shirt and gray-green geometric tie. I am holding a peach-colored, oversized plastic promotional pill that reads “PAXIL PAROXETINE HCL 20.” My face has an expression of feigned thoughtfulness, and I am in front of a blue gradient background.]
Self-Portrait (Comparison of Male and Female Structure), 2021, digital photograph
[Image Description: A half-length portrait of me, a white person, in front of a medical poster that reads “COMPARISON OF MALE AND FEMALE STRUCTURE.” There is a harsh flash lighting my face which looks through past the lens, and my hair is slicked to the sides from a straight part to appear shorter. My body and the strong shadow cover the male side of the poster, so the comparison lines radiate out from my body towards the female figure, who has a skeleton but lacks a skull. I am wearing a white doctor’s coat, a white button down, a grey tie with a pill-like design, and blue latex medical gloves. I am pulling the second glove on and gesturing upwards, and the peach light highlighting my hands matches the figures on the poster and my tie.]
Self-Portrait (as Perpetual Hero), 2022, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A portrait from the chest up of me, a white person, wearily looking upward with my mouth slightly open, showing crooked teeth. A yellow disposable mask dangles from one ear, and a distorted view of the scrub cap I am wearing is reflected in the face shield raised on top of my head. The scrub cap is covered in cameras in various bright colors and the phrase “I [heart emoji] photo.” The green backdrop gets lighter towards the top, following my eyes, and blue shadows fall on the sides of my face and the front of my neck. I am wearing a blue plastic gown over a teal scrub top.]
Self-Portrait (as Nurse since 1977), 2021, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A portrait of me, a white person with thin, short brown hair, wearing fruit-patterned scrubs and plum-colored lipstick and eyeshadow. I am shown from the waist-up and slightly hunched over, and my lips are pursed in a look of exhaustion and slight condemnation. Pinned to my chest is a blue pin that has a halo over the letters “RN,” and dangling from that is a blue and white ID badge with a photograph of me and the words “Patient Photographer” below. Behind my head is a black background covered with a circular cloud of nursing career pins.]
Self-Portrait (with a Big Smile), 2021, inkjet print, 35” x 24”
[Image Description: A headshot style portrait of me, a white person in front of a teal backdrop, wearing a flimsy stethoscope and dark teal scrubs embroidered with “Ruby J. Cromer” on the chest. I am looking straight on at the camera with a large, unnatural smile that wrinkles the corners of my eyes, and I am crossing my arms behind a dangling paper clothing tag. On my chest is a pin of a rainbow arching over the letters “RN,” as well as a pin of a yellow smiley face in a nurse’s hat, from which a blank white badge is dangling. My short brown hair is sticking straight up from my scalp.]