2/2

prelude
or
i love dead flowers:

years ago, a friend of mine who is a photographer, paricipated in a project at ICP (International Center for Photography) in NY that resulted in an exhibition & a book.

8 or so photographers were chosen to mentor an inner-city child and to do a photographic project with them. both the work and the thoughts of mentor/mentee were displayed/published.

I remember so clearly what Jean's student said; she talked about how she loved art because it allowed her to create a world of her own making since in her world she was powerless.

i was so struck by this, the concept was so alien to me. while i grew up in a fairly privaleged environment, many aspects of my childhood were far from what would be considered "acceptable", yet, i was given the gift of believing that i was in control, that i had the power in my life to change the things i did not like.

it was only years later, with her words running like a constant refrain in the back of my mind, that i began to adapt to this way of thinking. i began to believe that the only place i could create a world that was acceptable to me was infact, in my studio.

one way to look at this might be, defeat; that i wasn't able to change the world to my liking. another way is as a gift: i discovered that my power lies in what i can create from within rather than manifest without.

i would love to thank that little girl, who is now, i hope, a grown woman. i pray she has realized at least some of her dreams, she gave me the key to actualize much of mine.

i went to the best schools one could and was exposed to the knowledge of a range of civilizations, yet still, this unassuming, unselfconscious remark has turned out to be one of the most important cornerstones of my process.


to be continued...