An Exploration of Resilience and Resistance

"An Exploration of Resilience and Resistance" is about identity, culture, strength, vulnerability, and love. Witnessing different facets of people and how they explore themselves, I photograph my community of primarily BIPOC, queer, femme, trans and gender non-conforming kin to challenge pre-conceived notions of race, gender, and sexuality. Too often BIPOC and queer communities are not heard or seen as we define and experience ourselves in society. With the work, I touch on how we can become more empathic, empowered people despite the hardships that we have endured. Every photograph, every person, has a story to tell, and I am supporting them to tell these stories through their portrait. I invite the viewer to recognize the different sides of these stories, including the pain but most of all, the person’s spirit and perseverance. I want to show the general public who we are today as much of my community has been and continues to be inappropriately photographed and misrepresented. I am working to redress this from behind and in front of the lens by creating contemporary images of BIPOC and queer communities from an Indigenous perspective, supporting our society to shift away from the narrow perspective from which violence for womxn and non-binary communities often stems. I will continue to bring forth these topics in my work while supporting our resilient and resistant communities who are fighting to reclaim and define themselves within oppressive colonial contexts. I want to extend my deep gratitude to everyone involved with the project. Soga Sénlá’, Kali Spitzer.

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