Martha Naranjo Sandoval: Sangre de mi Sangre

Martha has been photographing her quotidian life since she moved to the States from México in 2014. The pictures in Sangre de mi Sangre were selected for this collection of over 300 35mm rolls and edited by artist Justine Kurland.

“I married Dylan on March 6th 2020, a week before the Covid pandemic blew up and a lock-down was imposed in New York City. As newlyweds, we would be unable to leave the house for months, cementing the bond between us in ways unimaginable just weeks before. In those intensely close quarters, I applied for my marriage greencard which required me to prove that my relationship was real.

My love for Dylan is certain and undeniable but suddenly I was being asked to demonstrate it in a tangible way for the scrutiny of an anonymous immigration officer. Bureaucrats boil relationships down to leases, bank statements, and anodyne group pictures. Sangre de mi Sangre is my response to that reductive requirement imposed on love. The pictures within tell the story of intimacy, affection, and trust in a world turned upside down.”—MNS