THIS SKIN I’M IN

THIS SKIN I’M IN Curated by Starr Sariego and Tema Stauffer
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
© Slocumb Galleries, Revolve Gallery and Participating Artists, 2022 | All rights reserved.

As a photographer and curator, my interest has  always been in people and portraiture. In 2013, I  was given an opportunity to create and photograph  an exhibition for a group of women with disabilities  (Bold Beauty Project, Miami). This sparked my  passion for making photo exhibitions that offer  photographers and subjects a way to share their  lives through cooperative portraiture and narrative.  There is great power in creating space for the telling  of one’s own story and especially for folks who live  outside of our own societal circles.  

THIS SKIN I’M IN: A Visual Narrative of Self is my  third photography exhibition in this field. Themes  for projects grow through my lived experiences. In this case, through mothering an intelligent and non binary young adult. Diving into to conversations  with them along with active listening to them and  their community have provided me with my own  coming out of sorts as a fierce advocate.  THIS SKIN I’M IN is a collection of images and  narratives by artists in and engaged with the  ***+ community. Photographers were invited  to submit work that expressed their own personal  experiences of queerness using photography and  narrative as a vehicle for self-authorship- a series  of visual autobiographies of sorts. The goal is to  empower the photographers to be seen and heard  as they wish, and not as a viewer may preconceive.  

This exhibition aims to reveal that labels, pronouns  and even current definitions of who and how a  person chooses to identify are deeply personal.  Terms and identities are evolving. As Audre Lorde so  aptly said… “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I  would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for  me and eaten alive.” 

As a photographer and curator, my aim is to  create exhibitions with the intention of inviting  the viewer to rethink societal labels of difference  and otherness. This exhibition presents us with  the opportunity to play with our own preconceived  definitions of gender and the language we feel  comfortable using around this subject. How do we  use pronouns? What do we think about folks if their  presentation is not what we are comfortable or  familiar with? What can we learn from seeing and  hearing their stories?  

Lastly, I’d like to thank Tema Stauffer for her  continued collaboration, encouragement and  support and Susan Patrice for her expertise. When  we collaborate we can make great things.  

Attention!
Participation by prior arrangement registration

Curators: