Jay Reed poses for a portrait Feb. 20, 2025 at the SIU Communications Building in Carbondale, Illinois. A Chicago native, Reed said he grew up around tattoos and now has eight of his own. Now, he's a junior at SIU studying graphic design, and he also designs tattoos and is working toward an apprenticeship at a local Carbondale business Neon Tiger Tattoo. “The artists there are amazing,” he said. “I would love to have myself a spot in that shop.”
On Reed’s left arm, he has several tattoos with Japanese lettering for different members of his family. “The big one at the top is my grandmother Bo,” Reed said. “She had passed away recently.” Reed said that the meaning of tattoos is important to him for his own personal tattoos and for the art that he creates for others. “Tattoos can have a lot of meaning and powerfulness through art," he said. “And it represents you as a person.”
Ana Sanchez poses for a portrait on April 12, 2024 behind the counter of La Mexicana in Cobden, Illinois. Sanchez is the stepdaughter of Edith Tomas, the owner of the store, and they both are familiar faces in the Cobden community.
“My name is Shawny Rotten. I've been tattooing for seven years now.” Begun as a side interest with punk rock and skateboarding, the tattoos that he has are a way of expressing himself. As a tattoo artist making art in Carbondale for three to four years, Shawny Rotten has been making art for a long time. “I always wanted to make cartoons…for the newspaper or something, but I never took it super seriously until, you know, I was in my mid-20s,” he said. “But I always have painted, do graffiti, and stuff like that.” Now, he expresses himself is through his tattoos. He’s gotten his tattoos in a variety of different ways over many years. “Don't tell my mom this, but we were in my friend David's house,” he said, describing how he got his first tattoo. “We were in high school, and he had a little tattoo machine… And we did a little ‘X’ on the very top of my thigh, as high as you possibly could get…so my mom will never see it. And of course, it looked terrible or whatever, but we were just excited.” And he hasn’t stopped since. The more tattoos he has gotten, the more comfortable he has become with his own body, he said. “So, like when I was younger and stuff, I didn't enjoy the way I looked, I guess, but I didn't know I was uncomfortable until I got more and more tattoos,” he said. “I was like, ‘Man, I just feel like myself more every day.’”
Susanna Chediak poses for a portrait in a temple in India. Chediak visited the temple on a trip to attend her cousin's traditional Indian wedding in Udaipur India in 2021.
Matt Baron takes a moment to breathe during the SIU vs Maryville rugby game on Oct. 14, 2023.
Deontae Johnson sits on the stairs that lead to the riverfront outside of the Cairo Blues and Heritage Festival September 6, 2024 in Cairo, Illinois.
The Hiccups band poses for a portrait March 7, 2025 at the photography studio in the SIU Communications Building in Carbondale, Illinois.
Daniel Tomas poses with his family’s horse Mia at their stables April 12, 2024 in Cobden, Illinois. The Tomas family have three horses, including two quarter horses and a mini horse.
Pastor Bob McKnight (92) poses for a portrait in his front yard with one of the bicycles that he has displayed there for sale July 14, 2024 in Herrin, Illinois. McKnight is well-known in the Herrin community for repairing and selling bicycles from his property.
Sandy Rednour looks up at what remains of the ceiling of her kitchen May 17, 2025 in Morganfield, Kentucky. The Rednour's home was damaged in a tornado that struck the area the night before, ripping the roof off their home and throwing it in their backyard. They and their family, including their grandson, took shelter in a hallway when the tornado struck.