For this photo series, I was mainly inspired by Matthew Brandt and his "Lakes and Reservoirs" exhibition. Brandt took photos of bodies of water and then soaked the prints in the same water, for weeks and sometimes months, which produces colorful decayed images.

I wanted to capture the degradation of prints by altering them with items like makeup, hair care products, and kitchen cleaning supplies. With more concern for harmful chemicals like phthalates, lead, and parabens in cosmetics, more organic and natural products have been advertised in the United States.

My goal was to show the items that people put on their bodies or spray their kitchen counters with to symbolize how potentially hazardous they are. So here are 12 images that I altered to send that message!

1. Clorox

I vigorously rubbed this print with a Clorox wipe until it looked like this. 'Twas an odd occurrence but a beautiful result.

2. Shaving cream and razor

I cut up this photo with a razor and sprayed it with shaving cream and left it out for a week before taking the photo of the photo.

3. Concealers

The dust is difficult to see here but it made the prints shiny and glittery.

4. Spray paint

My kitchen smelled like spray paint for a couple hours because of this.

5. Eyeliner

This is the point in the series where I apologize for my photos looking like a fifth grade art project.

6. Nail polish

Once again, my apologies. I kept these photos in my car for a while and my car smelt like nail polish the entire time.

7. Curling irons

I think I released harmful chemicals into the air for a hot second when I burnt this photo, but whatever.

8. Face masks

This is gross, but whatever. Art, you know? It be like that sometimes.

9. Shampoos

The shampoo barely affected this print. Like, damn. I rubbed it with shampoo for a couple of minutes, which is a couple too many.

10. Hair dye

It's not a waste of hair dye if it's expired.

11. Lipstick/lip gloss

I think I got these lip glosses from a seventh grade birthday party and kept them.

12. Oxy Deep

This was literally a messy project with messy results. But I hope you got the message.