“I needed the experience of images of myself that were not about beauty, but just about. I don’t always like how we make ourselves up for images. I liked how it was really, truly just an experience and not a stressful one and not one with a particular goal. It wasn’t “a shoot”. It was just a was. I needed that. And I was okay with being imaged however I was. I needed to see me and make friends with me again.”

// INTISAR ABIOTO //

www.intisarabioto.com

www.theblackportlanders.com

–

I have a strong desire for you to understand how I work. 

I am a photographer, yes. But the value in what I do lies more in my ability to create safe spaces for authenticity, to facilitate meaningful experiences based on what comes up in that authentic space, to allow it to unfold, and to decipher the symbolism that comes forward. For me, making photographs is a practice that can enhance an experience by allowing the person living it to be able to view what has happened and reflect on it from an alternative perspective. 

I’m not just here to make things pretty. The world doesn’t need more mask-makers. I am the one who will photograph you when you are willing to take the mask off. 

For my session with Intisar, I asked her to bring items that were meaningful to her, and I brought items of my own that I feel hold energetic power and made them available.

When she arrived, we talked for a long time. About ancestry. About being a messenger for truth – uncomfortable truth. We talked about censorship, privilege, guilt, self, memories, stories, healing, intention. These things that pass through us. And then we simply made ourselves (and the studio and the items we brought) vessels for these things. 

Here are the images we made. 

Thank you, Intisar.