"Tender, heartfelt, intimate, vulnerable, dreamy, playful, narrative, wistful, melancholy, bewildered, both formal and informal constructions, bold, humorous, mysterious, mystical, wounded, disturbed, serene, hypnotic and extremely personal.  
 
The work submitted for my first curatorial call with LA Photo Curator for 'The "I” - Self Portraiture' brought forth work that is emotionally charged with a wide interpretation of what it means to look inwards.
 
The photographs are layered and thought provoking interpretations of the “I.” As I scrolled through the anonymous submissions, those that struck me would continuously change with my moods. I had to sit with these emotions and go back and forth over several weeks to feel which photographs resonated and stayed in my mind's eye as I laid in bed drifting off to sleep at night.
 
Judging a photographic competition is a very challenging experience. It is extremely difficult to choose, as I too know the feeling of putting my most vulnerable self out into the world for interpretation and judging. With this said, I wish to thank all of you who bravely put your most vulnerable selves out into the world for all of us to view. I am awed by your work. I am grateful for your time and consideration to partake in this competition.
 
I am proud to share that 10% of your entry fees will help the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and another 10% will go to my personal charity, the Creation District an incubator and a safe haven for creation, discovery, activism, daring, and dream-making for Sacramento’s youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness."
 

 

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