A MODEL HUSBAND

Inspired by Arthur Ollman’s book The Model Wife, A Model Husband is a photographic exploration of my future husband throughout our year-long engagement.

Growing up in a single-parent home, raised by my mother from the age of two, marriage was always an abstraction to me. Without a tangible sense of what the institution truly meant, I said “yes” when my partner proposed—agreeing to embark on a lifelong journey I barely understood. Throughout our engagement, I methodically photographed my fiancé, examining him as if he were a specimen, while contemplating the complexities of marriage: identity, independence, co-dependence, sexuality, domesticity, and fantasy. By studying and dissecting these images, I tried to make sense of the uncertainties, to plan, predict, and weigh the evidence—hoping to construct a rational vision of a future I could not truly comprehend. "A Year Engagement" chronicles this process, offering a deeper understanding of both my decision and my partner.