My work is motivated by a desire to understand the drives and limitations of human intimacy.

Psychological theory defines balancing needs for connectedness and autonomy as a core struggle in intimate relationships. In The Colors of Love series I explore the cycles of intimacy, isolation, security and vulnerability that move through the course of building a relationship and a home.

I arrange objects, paint and design interiors and pose a figure. Fleeting moments are distilled, transformed and suspended. Aspects of real life combine with imagined recollections, resulting in a photographic story, which feels real but seems far removed from my personal life experience.

As the collection of images grows, the edits, sequences and clusters evolve. The shifting arrangement of images imparts a quality of fluctuating narrative, never coming out the same way twice.

- Margot Herster

Herster is also the founder and director of Through the Walls, a photo-based initiative that portrays Guantanamo Bay detainees and their families through images and stories by their attorneys. For more information please visit www.throughthewalls.org.