Tez || Complexion

     This collection of work is composed of photographs of only Latinxs, particularly youth in the South, to demonstrate the diversity of the Latinx community and elevate the youth that resist this harmful... [ view full abstract ]

     This collection of work is composed of photographs of only Latinxs, particularly youth in the South, to demonstrate the diversity of the Latinx community and elevate the youth that resist this harmful rhetoric. Inspired by Toni Morrison’s ideas on the white gaze and centering the Black experience, this collection of work focusses on Latinxs alone, as a means of protest for the erasure of a history of colonization and its aftermath and to further counter xenophobia. These photographs explore the impact of migration on the people being photographed, whether it is generational or personal as a part of the Latinx identity. The use of portraits is important given the historical background that portraits were made for people in power but also acknowledges how photography is an essential part of documenting the journey of migration; when you migrate, often times the only things you have as memories are photographs of loved ones. Through portraits, this work seeks to empower the youth being photographed by validating their experience and resistance to discrimination as Latinxs.