DIFFERENT STROKES

Makeup artists play a special role in people’s lives. They are present on some of the most important days in people’s lives. Milestones. Weddings. Graduations. Engagements. DJ Performances. Drag queen performances. They have one of the most intimate professions, having access to see people in a completely different way. People are their canvases but so much more goes into the artistry of makeup. Making someone up. Painting their own face. Accentuating natural beauty is what can be witnessed when paying close attention to these five different makeup artists across the Bay Area. Each artist documented for this project expressed how rewarding their careers are for them because of this particular privilege of intimacy and creative expression. Being able to connect with their clients or inspiring others to follow their dreams and to live in their truth. Five artists were photographed at five different locations but the themes of freedom, creativity, and resilience remain throughout each.

BEE PEOPLE

This is a portrait essay that focuses on beekeepers of color around the Bay Area. Each beekeeper discovered their passion for beekeeping in their own different ways, but inevitably they are all led back to the same themes of environmental justice and climate justice. They either discovered the passion upon chance or were introduced to this work through family tradition. These themes highlight the importance of bees in our ecosystem, but what isn’t highlighted is the lack of Black beekeepers or other beekeepers of color within the industry, whether they’re backyard hobbyists or full time farmers. It leads us back to the redundant question of why this is.

Pieces of Black Motherhood

This documentary photo story focuses on the relationship between Jade Ramos and her son Kayson. During the project, Kayson was still fresh to the world and was at home every day, protected in a bubble from COVID-19. The purpose of the documentary was also to allow Jade a space where she could reflect on her new motherhood and what this especially means as a Black woman in U.S. society.

Black motherhood is an experience that is unique in almost every aspect, especially when compared to the experience of White motherhood. One of the paramount intentions behind this photographic essay is to provide a glimpse into what this motherhood might look like for a Black woman. My cousin, Jade Ramos, 33, is the chosen subject. Ramos is just one Black mother and so her story is just a ‘piece’ in this essay. Black Motherhood can look like many things but the common thread is the intersectionality of what it means to be a Black woman, particularly in the United States where white supremacy, racism, and sexism reign. The healthcare system is not exempt from these intersected forms of oppression. My goal for this project was to capture Ramos and her newborn, Kayson, just as they were. To capture their bond. To showcase moments of Ramos’ joy, which hasn’t always been easy for her to obtain. This in itself is a form of resistance against the oppressive systems that Black women face daily.

“For me, I think to sort of just distill it … I’ve come to the understanding that the joy is in choosing. When you think about Black women and how we’ve been discarded. Sort of an afterthought and at the bottom of every sort of ladder … I think being able to- the way that I find the joy or the way that I push back on all that is by choosing period; making decisions. And mind you, this is a journey. I’m not here but this is, I think, the understanding that I’ve landed on for me is just the autonomy and agency and the audacity, if you will, to make decisions about what you want period. And so, I think that’s how I find joy … I’ve been following the ‘yes’.” - Jade Ramos

Zoe Lopez-Meraz, 28, ran a campaign to become the new city council member representing the Fruitvale and the rest of District 5 in Oakland, CA. For her, running in this election was not about if she was going to win or not. It was about continuing her community work in a different way so as to bring change and hope to her district. Over the course of the last month that I got to spend with Lopez-Meraz, I could see and hear in her voice what priorities were important to her. While she did the usual campaign activities, like phone banking and door knocking, she also continued her community activism in the form of helping build a tiny house and passing out free snacks while at a pride ball. In the midst of all the activity, she remained calm and compassionate up until the last moments of the election. She remained herself and it was refreshing. Her past and her identity as a young woman of color seems to have an impact on how she lives her life and what she values as a community activist, human, and politician.