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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Harper Nichols, a native of Homewood and photography major at UAB, stands in front of a collection of prints in her student workspace.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Matthew Davis and Harper Nichols work together with one hand to roll a spool of 35mm film onto a spool and place the spool into a developing tank as part of a project by Nichols in the photo studio at the Humanities Building on the UAB campus.
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Harper Nichols has always had cerebral palsy, but she recently found she also had something else: courage.
The Homewood native and Homewood High School alumnus has had difficulty using her right arm her entire life. Because of the disease, she grew up with a fear of being photographed, afraid of the world seeing cerebral palsy’s impact on her right arm.
But recently, Nichols, an art major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was asked to make a self-portrait as part of her course requirements. Seeing an opportunity to confront her fear of being photographed, especially her right arm, she took a series of photographs that showed just her arm holding everyday items. The pictures show how she carries items, including a cell phone, purse and water bottle without full use of her right arm.
It allowed her to see her arm, and her life, from a different perspective, and even helped her learn to love her right arm, she said.
“This is a single part of my body that I will have for the rest of my life,” Nichols said.
Nichols formerly hid her disability, which she said took so much away from her childhood. While her sisters went to summer camp, she went to physical therapy to learn to strengthen her arm. She began to ignore the problem and didn’t talk about it from the time she was 13 until about two years ago — about a seven-year silence.
“I didn’t want to be differentiated,” Nichols said.
Being able to photograph her arm is a major step for Nichols, she said. While she has no problem being a disability advocate for others, she doesn’t talk much about her own journey.
“Two years ago, I wouldn’t have this conversation,” Nichols said.
Taking the photos helped her confidence and allowed her to share her life with others. When it came time to take the photos, she immersed herself into the work and made it about something bigger than herself, she said.
“I grew up in a creative world,” Nichols said. “If I got an idea that I was super excited about, I would make it happen. It wasn’t about me anymore; it was about the idea I had. I’m a photographer first, and this is a cool part of my life that I want to document. “It wasn’t going to be mine anymore. It would be anybody who took anything from it.”
Nichols’ photographs are a sort of timeline, showing items used for breakfast, going to class and more.
“I wanted it to be very telling of the things I do in my day-to-day life,” Nichols said. “A lot of my day-to-day life is learning how to navigate the world without my right hand.”
Some people actually thought the photos were fake because of the way she had to hold the items in the pictures, Nichols said.
The photographs have allowed her to have an impact on others, including the people with whom she went to school during her time in Homewood City Schools who had no idea that she had cerebral palsy. They also have encouraged and helped others, she said.
“It has been nice seeing people take something away from it,” Nichols said. “If it made anybody more confident … it’s worth it for me to share my own body that way.”
Nichols said she always had access to art supplies because her mom is an illustrator and her dad is a photographer. All of her siblings are also artistic and creative. She was 11-years-old when she bought her first camera and fell in love with the medium. Majoring in photography at UAB felt like the next step.
Nichols has two more semesters at UAB and is working with Good Grit Agency, which handles brand and magazine advertisements. Her dream is to be a concert photographer or “anything bright and colorful” and working with a creative team.
Her recent work also includes an independent study where other students will essentially serve as her “right hand.” Chosen students will first be photographed, and will then work with her to develop film from their canister in a dark room. Because the work involves using both hands, it isn’t easy for her to do it solo. The student will learn to develop film while literally lending a hand.
Nichols said she hopes to have an exhibition at the end of the summer. “I’m excited to take this idea of my arm and the things I can do with it to the next level.”
