Evie Lou and Laura Jane looks at the complex and intimate relationship between photographer Noelle McCleaf’s mother and her best friend. It’s a story of

two women who describe themselves as “alike with an honored difference,” who together signify an under-represented part of American society: aging women full of charisma, vibrant energy, with an understanding of the Earth and our place within it.

Evie Lou is a healer and survivalist who follows Native American spirituality. Laura Jane is a medical intuitive and a master story teller with powerful charisma. Through photographing these women, McCleaf seeks to share the collective stories of two powerful maternal figures. They tell tales of motherhood, personal visions, experiences and transformations they have made in different stages in their lives. McCleaf strongly believes that it is stories of our elders that can guide us through difficult times in our lives.

This project is a natural progression from McCleaf’s earlier work, A Bee in Her Bonnet, which focused on the mother-daughter dynamic. Introducing Evie Lou’s best friend, Laura Jane, into her later work came naturally and was a highly collaborative effort between photographer and subjects.

All images © Noelle McCleaf

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