Last week was a really special one for me. Photographs I took during a 3 year period at the US/Mexico border (spanning from California through Texas) with AMBOS Project and Tanya Aguiñiga opened in a new exhibit W|ALLS: Defend, Divide and the Divine at the Annenberg Space for Photography.
Allie & Naoki planned a small ceremony with only family in attendance at the Los Angeles County Arboretum (@laarboretum) in Arcadia. I remember keenly how they both wandered for a few minutes in the 🌿Prehistoric Forest🌿 before deciding on the spot that felt right for their ceremony. They rounded out the day by inviting a small group of friends to celebrate with them at the Side Bar at Covell (@barcovell). Follow your instincts, and all will be how it should. ✨🌑✨
Looking back on photos I took of Jails and Justice for USC Arts in Action (@usc_artsinaction). This project brought together USC students, Black Lives Matter (@blmlosangeles), and the Institute of Theatre and Social Change (@uscsda) — all who are committed to reimagining policing, incarceration and public safety. The two new performances took place at California African American Museum (@caaminla) and were in support of Reform L.A. Jails (@reformlajails).
It makes total sense to me that you’d get married and celebrate in a place that feels like home. In this case, Alison & John married in the home of Alison’s contemporary dance mentor, and ate dinner with all their family and friends at tables that were planted amongst her backyard fruit trees. 🍋 It’s that kind of abundance that makes you feel full and thankful for a long time afterwards.
Into the ground, Joe Riley and Audrey Snyder, 2018/2019
I had the honor of documenting this collaborative sculpture by Joe Riley and Audrey Snyder for Clockshop, now on view at the Bowtie Project.
This project was originally commissioned for The Socrates Annual at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York. Into the ground reflects on how urban ecologies uptake and transform contaminants, and how collective bodies realize agency through ground-up organizing. At Socrates, this sculpture engaged with the park’s history of transformation from landfill to public park, and in Los Angeles, it will draw similar parallels to the Bowtie’s transformation-in-progress.
The end of 2018 brought me a few last minute Beverly Hills courthouse weddings that I was happy to document. Looking through these photos after a couple months have past has me remembering Enjie’s energy and her contagious smile, amplified by the day’s events. Congratulations guys!
I’m happy to share some photos I shot last month for Craft Contemporary of Beatriz & Rafa’s collaborative installation, Nomad 13, on view now through May 12th, 2019!
Los Angeles-based artists Beatriz Cortez and Rafa Esparza present the collaborative installation, Nomad 13 in the museum’s first floor. Taking the form of an unconventional space capsule built from adobe bricks and steel, the structure houses a garden of plants that are indigenous to the Americas and were cultivated by the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations. The garden refers to a long history of plant migration, as well as the knowledge and technological advances of ancient peoples. In symbolically “launching” these plants into the cosmos, the artists evoke the real ongoing experiments of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to grow food in outer space. However, with Nomad 13 the artists envision the growth of fresh food in space for the survival of indigenous knowledge and to nourish future space travelers.
