Overview
The speaker shares their journey with photography, reflecting on personal challenges, artistic influences, and the importance of representation and expression through creative work.
Personal Background and Beginnings in Photography
- Began photography at age 13, now with eleven years of experience.
- Parents' divorce led to relocating from New York City to a small South Carolina town.
- Experienced depression and anxiety due to the move and lack of coping resources.
- Turned to photography as an outlet during difficult times.
Artistic Inspiration and Process
- Finds inspiration in immediate surroundings and the local neighborhood's atmosphere.
- Values wandering and observing as vital to creative practice.
- Emphasizes staying grounded and maintaining curiosity in familiar spaces.
- Identifies a recurring tension and questioning in their evolving work.
Influence of Black Artists and Vision
- Draws inspiration from Black painters such as Jacob Lawrence, Mary T. Smith, Sister Gertrude Morgan, and Benny Andrews.
- Admires the worlds depicted in these artists’ paintings and aspires to create similarly evocative spaces.
- Seeks to build new worlds in their own work that reflect possibilities and belonging.
Personal Expression and Impact
- Views photography as a flexible space for expressing both vulnerability and boldness.
- Appreciates being part of a more sensitive and inclusive generation of creators.
- Values wholehearted self-expression in creative peers as depicted in a book project.
- Believes in the importance of representation, aiming to inspire others to create freely.
- Hopes personal expression can inspire and encourage people with shared backgrounds.