In The 505

 

“A relationship of violence acts upon a body or upon a thing; it forces, it bends, it breaks, it destroys, or it closes off all possibilities.”-Michel Foucault

I photograph the diverse people of New Mexico to show the flip side of my home state’s motto- “Land of Enchantment” with its historic hysterical mix of cultures, races and religions locked in a passionate and often violent embrace. The subjects of the silver gelatin black and white photographs illustrate the wide range of ethnicity, culture, language and class represented in people of all ages in the 505. The portraits show friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, performers, artists, colleagues and their relatives that I have known over the past 22 years in the state where I grew up and went to high school and university. New Mexico tourism touts the beautiful scenery and the tri-cultures but glosses over the history of violence and conquest that continues in gang and class war today. High unemployment, lack of education, illiteracy, 50% dropout rate, poverty and violence limit opportunity for youth. Some find support in youth wrestling with dreams of earning a living as cage fighters. Some are drawn into gangs and violence, while many choose education, family and tradition. Some work for economic justice walking with Martin Luther King III in urban neighborhoods, others carry on land-based traditions of their ancestors whether Pueblo Indian or Spanish farmers irrigating land grants using ancient acequias under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The stories the subjects share give expression to the individual and collective history that explains the deep ties that bind people to the state of New Mexico