07 If you don’t see the race, you don’t see the person
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If you
don’t see the race, you don’t see the person.
I wish to acknowledge the people of the Kulin Nations; on whose land we are gathered today. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present.
With so much noise around the issue of racism, people often do not give experiences the chance to speak. These experiences are all real and from the heart. Each interview is as much a piece of the interviewee as the pictures and sometimes one needs to be calm and quiet to shout the loudest through the constant arguments and discourse that surrounds us 24/7.
I am a western white person and this project aims to tackle subtle racism. Each person that is a part of this project has been shown every step that I have done and backed my work fully. In the aim of equality, each person has been given the ability to suggest changes and each opinion has been used to shape this project. Four people of different heritages, cultures and histories are a part of this project, and each of their lives have been influenced by their culture, heritage, and histories, whether positively or not, and each interview, story and word need to be taken seriously as insight into this turbulent issue.
What is subtle racism?
How does it affect people?
How should we approach subtle racism?
These and other countless questions are asked but never addressed, and those who try to are often shut down as their voices are not loud enough to be taken seriously even if they are the ones who gives the greatest insights. When the world shouts and butt heads, sometimes it takes the quiet speaking up to change the tides, and when they do, they need a way to speak to breathe through the walls put up by all involved in the debate.
I wish to acknowledge the people of the Kulin Nations; on whose land we are gathered today. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present.
With so much noise around the issue of racism, people often do not give experiences the chance to speak. These experiences are all real and from the heart. Each interview is as much a piece of the interviewee as the pictures and sometimes one needs to be calm and quiet to shout the loudest through the constant arguments and discourse that surrounds us 24/7.
I am a western white person and this project aims to tackle subtle racism. Each person that is a part of this project has been shown every step that I have done and backed my work fully. In the aim of equality, each person has been given the ability to suggest changes and each opinion has been used to shape this project. Four people of different heritages, cultures and histories are a part of this project, and each of their lives have been influenced by their culture, heritage, and histories, whether positively or not, and each interview, story and word need to be taken seriously as insight into this turbulent issue.
What is subtle racism?
How does it affect people?
How should we approach subtle racism?
These and other countless questions are asked but never addressed, and those who try to are often shut down as their voices are not loud enough to be taken seriously even if they are the ones who gives the greatest insights. When the world shouts and butt heads, sometimes it takes the quiet speaking up to change the tides, and when they do, they need a way to speak to breathe through the walls put up by all involved in the debate.
‘If you
don’t see the race, you don’t see the person’ is a project built around a
series of interviews I did with different POC’s discussing their opinions of
race and subtle racism. Through the project and interviews, topics were covered
such as ‘woke allies’, what it means to be connected to one’s heritage and the
importance of understanding culture when interacting with someone from a
different background. These are some of
the topics that were addressed during this project.
The project consists of: Photographic images of the participants, interviews that are both in a short, edited form and 30+ minute forms and ‘Gift Cards’ that when one opens the card, audio taken from one of the interviews immediately starts playing. The aim is for everything to be presented in a gallery and then for each attendee to take a gift card. Once they have the gift card, it will inevitably get spread around and thus, the message will be spread around too.
The project consists of: Photographic images of the participants, interviews that are both in a short, edited form and 30+ minute forms and ‘Gift Cards’ that when one opens the card, audio taken from one of the interviews immediately starts playing. The aim is for everything to be presented in a gallery and then for each attendee to take a gift card. Once they have the gift card, it will inevitably get spread around and thus, the message will be spread around too.