Photo credit: KZ
Jordan A. Porter-Woodruff (b. 1991) is a Chicago-born fine art photographer and the staff photographer at the University of Chicago Medicine. Her creative practice is rooted in storytelling, informed by an early career in writing. In 2019, she transitioned fully into photography, a shift that marked the beginning of her inaugural photo series and blog, The Artists’ Feature (TAF).
The Artists’ Feature was a portrait-driven platform that documented artists within intimate and vulnerable spaces. By centering the artist as both subject and collaborator, the series established Porter-Woodruff’s distinctive spotlight approach to lighting and portraiture.
Through her work at the University of Chicago Medicine, Porter-Woodruff has photographed surgical procedures, an experience that deeply influenced her artistic inquiry. Time spent in the operating room sparked a fascination with the power of the hand and its relationship to science, health, and technology. This curiosity led to her ongoing series, Working Hands, which examines the role of the hand in brain development, emotional expression, and creativity.
Building on the success of Working Hands, Porter-Woodruff expanded the series into the sub-series The Children Play Games. The work deepened her investigation into the brain–hand relationship by examining its role in child development, creativity, and play during an age where children navigate complex issues such as AI and deep internet culture.
Porter-Woodruff’s work hopes to spark conversations around the human experience and how we may safeguard the very foundations and traditions built solely by our brain and hands that have allowed society to take advantage of its significance.