I Identify With - Tumblr Posts

The second piece in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity.  More info at the project site.

The third piece and first male participant in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity.  More info at the project site.

The fourth piece in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity.  More info at the project site.

The fifth piece in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity. 

More info at the project site.

The sixth piece in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity. 

More info at the project site.

The seventh piece in a new photo series I’m doing on group identity. I decided to only include each person's name and chosen identities to keep each piece more simple. But, to give some more information, so far two of the portraits were taken in Chicago and the rest in Japan. Of the participants, one was Canadian, today's is Jamaican, and the rest have been American.  In two weeks I'm setting up at an international festival in the city of Minamata and am excited to have the opportunity to photograph visitors from places like Slovenia and Mexico in addition to local Japanese people.

More info at the project site.

The eighth piece in a photo series I’m doing on group identity. On Saturday I set up at the Minamata Cultural Exchange Festival. Prepping for it is getting more and more hectic, but it's exciting at the same time.  More info on the series at the project site.

The ninth piece (and second Brit) in a photo series I’m doing on group identity. Last Saturday I exhibited the project and photographed attendees of the Minamata Cultural Exchange Festival. Photos of that soon. More info on the series at the project site.

These are the Japanese versions of the photos I showed at a cultural exchange festival in Minamata, Japan last weekend. I worked with scans from the negative of each image, rather than the print, so I'm excited at how much higher quality these images are than the previous ones I'd made.  So far I've managed to photograph Americans, a Canadian, A Jamaican, a few Japanese people, two Brits, and recently a Mexican. Translations of the Japanese are in the captions. More info here.

As it turned out, I didn't get much traffic at the international festival. The event was comprised mainly of performances and presentations at a stage in the front of the room, and I and a local cafe had tables in the back. So, though my project was introduced by the MC, there wasn't much chance for people to pull themselves away from the performances. Still, I did talk to one Japanese woman who was very excited by the project. I took her picture outside overlooking the river, and she gave me her responses almost right away. I got a picture of a few others, including a young Mexican guy and a Korean college student who were there with about a dozen other people (Slovenians, French people a Russian girl, etc.). So, I left the fest feeling good that I had those encounters. Now I've just got to finish this role and get it developed! Film is such a waiting game.

The tenth piece in a photo series I’m doing on group identity. I found out today that I didn't get into the group show in my hometown I submitted a few of these photos for. They said around a hundred people applied, and they narrowed it down to twenty. That's $30 down the drain, but I guess I'll look for the next opportunity. More info on the series at the project site.

The 11th piece in my photo series on group identity.  Throughout this project, I've rarely asked participants how they decide on their words. I've often been surprised by what people choose and leave out, so I wonder about their thought processes. So, as this is my own response, I thought I'd explain my words. Batavian: Really I'm surprised that no one has chosen their hometown and very rarely do people put down a regional or national identity. I feel such a connection to the places and people of my hometown. My childhood and adolescence took place there. My parents and oldest friends are from there; it's my home base. Midwesterner: My family history is tied up in the Midwest, and it's the part of the country I know best. I think exploring the area in college helped cement this identity for me. I wonder if I live outside of the Midwest, if this part of my identity will become less prominent, but for now I feel like it's the part of American I know and have connections to. Greek-American: For me this is less about countries than my family. I've never been to Greece, but Greek foods and traditions make me feel connected to my family and family history. I like that when I'm making koulouria for Easter, I know that my great-grandparents did the same thing. I also wanted to use this word to include America, as I do feel connected to the States, especially as someone living outside of them. Quaker: Though I only became Quaker in college, it's changed the way I live and think about my life. A lifestyle-centered faith, through it I've become more passionate about environmentalism, social justice, and moral issues like compassion and honesty. When I meet a new Quaker, I feel a deep connection with them right away because I know that we hold some of the same deep values and beliefs. More broadly as a Christian, I feel connected to my current family and pacifist ancestors. Artist: A community I feel totally at home in and am always excited to be a part of. Living outside of an artistic community has been one of the hardest parts of being in rural Japan for me. Japanese speaker: Two years ago I wouldn't have put this, but living in Japan, it's definitely on my mind. Through the Japanese language, I feel closer to Japanese people. To an extent, I can enter their world and experience it as they do. That broadened perspective is something I love. Environmentalist: Becoming interested in green living and exploring Quakerism were both experiences that began my junior year of college and have thus always been closely tied together for me. It feels at times that environmentalism effects more of my daily decisions that anything else. I'm shy about discussing it with others because I think the subject can seem judgmental or make people feel guilty, but I feel so happy when I can share opinions with other environmentally-concerned people. For more photos and information, check out the project site here.

The twelfth piece in my photo series on group identity. This one comes from the Minamata Cultural Exchange Festival where I photographed attendees. Noriko was especially friendly and enthusiastic about taking part. More info on the series at the project site.

I'm currently working on part two to this project, this time asking participants what groups they feel they don't identify with that they've been lumped into by others. For my own responses I chose capital G' gay, white person, and baka gaijin. The first comes from multiple encounters I've had with gay and straight people alike who assume I'm familiar with certain books, show tunes, divas, bars, etc. because of my sexuality. A former roommate of mine, surprised I hadn't heard of some gay icon,  told me, "I have to teach you your culture."  White person is naturally the category I'm placed into most in the American media. While I understand it's a useful term for talking about issues surrounding inequality, oppression, and discrimination, I think too often it's conflated with cultural identity. I really take nothing from the term when it comes to that. Baka gaijin is Japanese for idiot foreigner. Though I've never been called this directly, on a weekly basis I encounter preconceptions others have of me because of my status as a foreigner. I had my car and body searched for weapons by the police because of this and have been thought to be incapable of a long list of things like: speaking, reading, or writing Japanese, using chopsticks, eating rice, drinking tea, eating sushi, etc.

My intent with I Identify With is to create a positive counterpoint to these external categorizations; I feel that showing the negative side of things will help highlight the positive.  For more information visit the project site.

I’m currently working on part of to my I Identify With project, this time asking participants what groups they feel they don’t identify with that they’ve been lumped into by others. My intent is to create a positive counterpoint to these external categorizations; I feel that showing the negative side of things will help highlight the positive. 

For more information visit the project site.

The thirteenth piece in my photo series on group identity.  More info on the series at the project site.

This project has taught me new things as an artist seeking participation from others. I learned how to explain myself and what I'm looking for clearly and concisely, so that I get the right kind of responses. I'd had a similar project before, "I Identify As", which was getting me a lot of goofy self-descriptions instead of honest responses about identity. Only after changing "as" to "with" and cleaning up my explanation, did people's answers really shift. Second, I've learned to be more flexible. At first I had an idea of the kinds of responses I was looking for: short, serious, group-oriented, but I've come to embrace the diversity of responses, like this very long one. I wanted this project to give people freedom to express their group identities, and I learned that, after clearly explaining my intentions, I should commit to that freedom 100%. This is the fourteenth photo in I Identify With. More info and photos at the project site.

The fifteenth piece in my photo series on group identity.  More info on the series at the project site.

The sixteenth piece in my photo series on group identity. I took this one of my brother at Mogushi Beach near my town in Japan. 

More info on the series at the project site.

The nineteenth piece in my photo series on group identity. I really liked Jislaine's word choices here. Taken in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood.

More info on this series at the project site.