Final Journal Presentation: When the COLOR is gone we are all the same

People are so different from one another because we come from different places...

But When The Color is Gone...

We are all the same...

So let's enjoy our differences and love our similarities!

 

 

Write Up:

I orchestrated to destroy cultural barriers at UT, and help us function better as a diverse community. The title of this project is Cultural Collage: When the Color is Gone, we are All the Same. I wanted to do a project that focuses on culture because it is something I am so intrigued by.

 

When I first began my journal, I knew that culture and diversity is what I wanted to explore. I started by photographing different cultural events, such as Holi, Africa Night, Chinese Yoga etc. Even though these were all beautiful and interesting, I did not feel as though my images had a message behind them. I then had two competing ideas: 1) I wanted to capture the colorful diversity of UT students by shooting them in clothing that represented their heritage or 2) Find a way to focus on the similarities of students of different ethnic backgrounds instead of the differences, by doing a photo shoot in black & white. What I came up with is a mix of the two concept, that would feature a series of collages.

 

            I selected students from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds do be a part of my project. I photographed students from India, Panama, Russia, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, America, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and several others. In the first half, I highlighted the beauty and differences of everyone’s background by having them dress up in semi-traditional clothing, and capturing the variety of their colorful heritage through different locations around campus. In the second half, I removed all color and clothing, and showed how as humans we all express the same emotions and have similar interactions. Though I photographed one person at a time, the way they are placed within the frames makes it look as though they are interacting with each other. Through this project, I hoped to inspire others to learn and appreciate other cultures for their differences, but also their similarities. I do not see people in black and white, but because I understand the similarities in black and white I can love their many colors.