Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i Lens Magazine

2SERIES: DAUGHTERS OF GOD REFUGEES CAMP IN THE PARIS AREA As a French photojournalist of Indian origin, since I was a child, I have been fascinated by their beauty and courage to thwart the expectations of one of the most patriarchal and conservative societies. So I decided to discover their daily life. Savitha, Sangeena, Sathana, Geetha, Marthula, Rossi, Seethal, Srija, and Pappima are part of transgender communities in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu: the Thirunangais, those means in Tamil the "daughters of God." In southern India, this is what they are called, in reference to the Goddess of fertility and chastity, Bahuchara Mata, of whom these people, neither men nor women, would be the descendants, according to the Hindu religion. India has recognized the existence of the third sex since 2014…

“THIS PROJECT WAS PHOTOGRAPHED TO PRESERVE THE CULTURE AND COMMUNITY. IT COULD ONLY BE CREATED WITH FULL COLLABORATION WITH THESE PEOPLE, AND I THANK THEM FOR TRUSTING ME. THE PROJECT WAS CREATED WITH THE JOINED MISSION OF NOT LETTING THE COMMUNITY BE FORGOTTEN AND PRESENTING THESE NEIGHBORHOODS' REAL, AUTHENTIC LIVES.”- MIGUEL 'CHROMATIC' VALENCIA “This series of pictures that I shot are about the avenues, streets, and sidewalks of the Southeast, South Bay, and north county areas of San Diego. When I was a little kid, I would be in the alleys, kick in it, drink, get into trouble, and fight with other kids; it was common for me to walk across the park and watch people smoking crack or shooting heroin. I would always 'fuck' around and hang out in…

“Nature is like a woman who enjoys disguising herself, and whose different disguises, revealing now one part of her and now another, permit those who study her and assiduously to hope that one day they may know the whole of her person”-Denis Diderot This series of portraits explores my own connection to the natural world. Women and nature are aligned in various ways, from symbolic to material. The concept of connecting women with nature dates back to the times of ancient classical mythology, with several goddesses being strongly connected to the earth, animals, and different stars and planets. In this project, I look at women and different parts of the experience of being a woman through the rawness of nature. My goal is to show our beauty’s raw nature, resilience,…

“In Pakistan, they are also called Khawaja Sira, the equivalent of transgender in the Urdu language. Hijras are officially recognized as a third gender in the Indian subcontinent and are considered neither entirely male nor female. A series of court rulings have legally recognized the third gender since 2009, but implementation has been problematic. Socially, transgender individuals continue to be treated as inferior beings who have no right to privacy, personal dignity, or even safety. Transgender dancers at weddings are not only a cheaper alternative but also spare hosts the censure they would expect from community elders if they invited same-sex women. For the dancers, it’s a way to avoid begging or entering sex work. Across the world, transgender people face high levels of stigma and discrimination when accessing health…

“NUDITY CAN BE MANY THINGS. FOR ME, IT IS VULNERABILITY, STRENGTH, GRACEFULNESS, AND FREEDOM. MOST OF ALL, IT IS HUMAN. A NUDE FIGURE IS A COMMON SUBJECT OF MY WORK. MY MEDIUM OF CHOICE IS PHOTOGRAPHY, WHICH LITERALLY MEANS "DRAWING WITH LIGHT." This project expresses how all being combined into a pure amalgam of light painting, where the human body is both a subject and a canvas, time collapses, and the light becomes almost tangible. Every light painting starts with a concept and planning. Yet, there is room for improvisation and spontaneity. It is impossible to reproduce the process exactly: every brush-light stroke falls differently. The model’s head shifts just a notch. Everything is alive and breathing. “Creating a single light-painted image usually requires multiple takes, each about a minute…

CAI AND CLAIRE - AGES 28 & 29. BLISS, IDAHO 'Dismantle and rebuild (the urge to destroy is a creative urge, a natural reset) build a home in you, a home in me. Together home is always growing, always being redefined-dismantled, and rebuilt. We see each other; we make space for each other. And here, we are always safe inside.' Barbara Peacock © All rights reserved. See the article on page 34 THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE FOR CONTEMPORARY FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY Available for subscriptions and single Issues on the Apple Store Newsstand, Google Play, Magzter.com, Pocketmags.com, Zinio.com and Pressreader.com. Full distribution to the archive data of Universities, Academic Libraries & Public Libraries around the world by EBSCO Information service. The content is available for academic researchers, lecturers at the universities, and…

JOSÉ JEULAND: Dear Jennifer, it’s a pleasure having an interview with you and featuring your fantastic projects. Please introduce yourself; where did you grow up, and what is your background? JENNIFER CARLOS: Thank you, José. I'm a 34-year-old French Photojournalist based in Paris. My family is from India; this is where I grew up, although if you look back several generations, there’s some mix of French blood in my roots. My father had a military career in the Air Force and then in defense of the French Republic (France), and because of his position, he traveled a lot. My family settled at my birthplace, but their travel stories fed my desire for travel and my curiosity. My artistic side comes from my mum. I studied Art in various cities in…

The series Selves aims to artistically represent the psychological conflicts we face when we weigh ourselves based on socially determined of what is ideal and where we stand with the distorted and one-size that fits all defined. Ons of the ideal self. It tries to capture the turmoil a person witnesses and sustains within oneself to decide who they want to be. It shows the dips and dilemmas of the self in determining the self. This, in turn, pinpoints the stereotypical realm of the society-bred thinking toward the ideal concepts, considering anything perfect is always ideal. This series tries to reflect upon the protagonist’s current state of self, which the person is highly dissatisfied with. It encompasses the struggles faced by the protagonist in deciding what the ideal self would…

When I was a child, I found myself attracted to the Virgin Mary, or at least to her representation on a small piece of wood hanging in my aunt’s kitchen in rural Romania. I grew up among many religious icons - interpretations and representations of the Divine, but while crucifixions scared me, the image of Mary was reassuring; mysterious and beautiful, complex, vulnerable and strong - she was the archetypal girlfriend. I know this might sound as weird as entertaining fantasies about the Statue of Liberty, but I lived on a planet infused with the Feminine Spirit for most of my life. I also grew up in my father’s amateur photo lab set up in a bathroom in our working-class apartment in Bucharest. That improvised darkroom echoed the country where…

“American Bedroom is a cultural and anthropological study of Americans in their private dwelling: the bedroom. The nature of the project is unguarded portraits of individuals, couples, and families that reveal the depth of their character, truth, and spirit. The images are paired with poetic and pithy quotes from each subject and are full of subtle details that invite us to contemplate the idiosyncrasies of each enigmatic life. The scoop of the project is the entire United States. My interest lies in the poetic resonance of ordinary subjects, much in the convention of our forefather of the documentary tradition, Walker Evans. I followhispracticeof photographing commonplace subjects, working-class Americans, beneath notice and yet the very fabric of our nation. I am passionate but not sentimental about America, as evident in my…

After over four years in the San Francisco Bay area, I returned to the east coast in 2015 to assist in the care of my aging parents. Unfortunately, their physical and cognitive decline proceeded to advance inexorably. Separately, each spent the end of their lives in facilities dedicated to caring for residents with dementia, most commonly the Alzheimer’s type. They received excellent support from a dedicated and compassionate staff, and each, in turn, entered hospice until their death. Although facilities dedicated to the care of degenerative brain disorders tend to be named euphemistically ("A Place for Mom"; "Life Guidance Neighborhood"; "The Village"), the disease is exquisitely cruel, relentless, and indifferent to sentimentality. I was a physician before I became a photographer. I imagined I was no stranger to death and…

“Mother is a documentary that chronicles the final six years of my mother’s life, her struggle with hoarding, and my grieving process.”- Leon Syfrit…

My mother and I moved to Wilmington, Delaware, following my father’s death in January 1978. We were originally from Wilmington, although we spent the preceding 18 months in Del Ray, Florida, where my father worked as the general manager of a country club. In February of 1978, my mother and I moved into a 1011 N. Clayton Street house. The home was owned by a long-time family friend and functioned as a halfway house for people dealing with substance abuse issues. My mother acted as the live-in house manager and, in time, purchased the property and created a ministry called Christ the Bridge Inc. The Ministry was active and vibrant, providing housing and counseling for a broad array of clients and was a refuge for many people. In 2004, my…