Since I have moved to Long Beach, I’ve tried to familiarize myself with the city and the communities that reside within it. That includes many artists who call Long Beach home and my girlfriend recently informed me of the passing of Laura Aguilar, a Latino LGBT photographer who had an impact within Chicana feminism. Much of her work showcases many from marginalized communities. Some of her work highlights the intersection of the various identities she has that reside within these communities. My girlfriend is Mexican and her identity is also complex and multifaceted. I’ve made a conscious effort to familiarize myself with the various communities, histories, and cultures that my girlfriend finds herself in order to be a better partner for her in the long run.
Aguilar’s work has many of her photos of herself as subject. That made me think about myself and what kind of photos I have saved, I’ve always tried to avoid being in front of the lens for the majority of my life, but I still have some of myself through the years. Most of these haven’t seen the light of day. I have a 6TB raid that stores every photo i’ve ever taken, personal cell phone, SLR, senior photos, prom pics. I saved everything. It’s about 100,000 images and about 800GB in size. This past weekend I felt like going through my library and picking a single photo of myself from a year and openly talk about it, how the photo makes me view myself, think about my life, notice the changes in my face, etc.
So allow me to present the following, a collection of photos of myself over the years.
