Photography and Text by Faizah Khan, Copyright 2021
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Sentimental Objects
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Everyday objects, as ordinary as they appear, often bear significant value for an individual. Whether it be a tired old shoe or a lively stuffed animal, the objects we hold onto serve as a symbol of the life we once lived, are living, or want to live. The ability for inanimate objects to possess qualities that reflect a piece of an individual consequently inspired this project.
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Photo: Faizah Khan, Copyright 2021
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All items photographed belong to college students due to location and proximity. However, this was ideal because given the limited space college students must face when moving in, they must constantly narrow down their most precious items they plan on bringing with them to campus.
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Photo: Faizah Khan, Copyright 2021
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Through a series of conversations, each photograph was taken to capture the heartwarming memories and worthwhile stories that these items carry. While each photograph reveals a unique story about the individual, an observer can make their own interpretations of what these stories could hold.
Photography and Text by Sharon Wang, Copyright 2021
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Traveling Under the Pandemic
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When we talk about traveling, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Beautiful scenery, exotic matters, fascinating culture, tasty food, and so much more. A year ago, the most unexpected and tough experience wiped over the entire human race — the COVID-19 pandemic. If the world before the pandemic was a constantly spinning wheel, one component stopped working one day, and the rest just crumbled down.
In light of the pandemic, traveling became harder and harder. Quarantine is the default when traveling from one place to another. International travel is nearly impossible. Even though the traditional way of traveling is limited, journeys still happen around us.
Usually during spring break, students will go outside of the school and have fun. This year, rather than us taking a trip to the zoo, the zoo traveled to us. Our fluffy friends comforted us with their cuteness, saving us from all the work, and healing our exhaustion quitely.
Another thing that travels is the endearment and attachment between loved ones. Because of the restriction of travel, lovers, or family members are sometimes separated. Although for international students on campus, who have been in this foriegn country for over a year all on their own, their emotions still travel to their loved ones. Even with all the restrictions because of the pandemic, love travels through words on the postcards and with packages to the people on the other end.
Time also travels. Last year, when the flowers were blooming, no one was here enjoying the blessed weather. Exactly a year later, the flowers are showing off their beauty again. Even though the world was shut down at one point, time continues, not caring about anything. After many years when I think back at college during the pandemic, I probably will not remember the problem sets that were driving me crazy, but I know I will clearly hear the husky, sensual voice of Lana Del Ray from my headphones. I look outside the French windows on the first floor of the library — the sun drizzles on the sprouts and buds; their reflections sneak into the room and hug me from behind. Everything is colored “warm” on this early spring afternoon. It is the time of the year where people wear clothes as if they were living in different seasons. It is a Saturday afternoon, one that everything is recovering. Time travels on its own, not caring anything about us. Time travels, and it heals everything.
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Portrait of Sharon Wang by Abby Harris, Copyright 2021
Photography, Video and Text by Aliana Ho, Copyright 2021
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Unity at the Initiative
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Friday March 12th, 2021, we piled into my car and set for Vine Street. Through social media postings and online publications, we had heard about the Asian Arts Initiative’s exhibit, Unity at the Initiative. Dedicated to providing spaces and greater representation for queer and trans bodies of color, this partnering of the the two collectives involves multiple visual exhibits,pop-up indoor skate park made accessible through a Covid-safe, reservation-only system.
Upon our arrival, we were greeted by the brilliant Philly sun as we waited for someone to come and unlock the door. Stepping inside, the cool air graced our skins as our eyes adjusted to the lighting. We gazed in excitement at the skate ramps and rails, at the posters covering the walls and their beautiful artwork created by beautiful queer artists of color. After spending about an hour and a half skating, admiring the artwork, and even putting up some of the extra posters with the wheat paste method, we were told to go check out the visual installation on the backside of the building.
We collected our boards, extra posters to take home, and other belongings and wandered down the back alley, and came across the window display of the installation. Inside the window were countless posters, cans of spray paint, zines, tapestries, and an assorted clutter of other visual art pieces, illuminated by a soft yellow glow. The surrounding walls had beautiful murals, one titled “Color Me Home”, made in collaboration between the Asian Arts Initiative and the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.
The main focus of the Asian Arts Initiative is to “create community through the power of art”. For UNITY, an Oakland, CA based organization, they focus on dismantling white supremacy by pushing for representation for queer, trans, and disabled, bodies of color in spaces like are typically dominated by white cis-men, like the skating community. In merging these two organizations and creating representative art and spaces for QTBIPOC, this installation provided a brilliant example of making changes within smaller communities to make impacts on a larger scale. Despite all the media attention these issues have been getting, especially since the shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, which happened just four days after we visited the show, does not mean that these issues did not exist before people started paying attention to them. This exhibit proves to show that conversations around accessibility, inclusion, and creating safe spaces for the most marginalized communities has and will continue to be important to creating lasting change.
Portrait of Aliana Ho by Rachel Grand, Copyright 2021
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About The Author: Aliana Ho is an Anthropology major, Visual Studies & Health Studie Minor student at Haverford College, Haverford, Pa. Class of 2022. To see additional articles by Aliana, click here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/we-thrive/
Get Vaccinated. Photo: Abby Harris, Copyright 2021
Photography and Text by Abby Harris, Copyright 2021
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Get Vaccinated!
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As the world slowly opens and things improve each day I wanted to highlight vaccination and the pandemic on campus. As we pass the one year mark of the pandemic impacting everyone’s lives, getting vaccinated is a simple way to protect yourself and help life return to normal. The joy and relief that come with being vaccinated is an effervescent feeling. I almost cried out of happiness and exhaustion when I received my first dose. Not only did I want to spread a message about getting vaccinated I also wanted to show off the happiness people experience once they are vaccinated.
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Get Vaccinated. Photo: Abby Harris, Copyright 2021
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Simple portraits outside with just my friends and their vaccination cards felt like the best way to display these feelings. The pandemic has been difficult to navigate while being away at college for all of us, but we have persevered and are hopefully close to the end. Being at college during the pandemic has been very isolating and lonely. We spend all day in our dorms on zoom and see each other only occasionally. This is why I chose to shoot each of my friends individually.
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Get Vaccinated. Photo: Abby Harris, Copyright 2021
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When I took these photographs I didn’t direct my friends at all besides asking them to hold the card. I think it is very powerful that in each person’s eyes you can see them smiling while holding their card proudly. Even though this past year has been horrible we are on track to being okay again. My friends and I are very lucky to be vaccinated. I hope everyone who is eligible right now goes out and gets vaccinated. The weight that gets lifted off your shoulders once you are vaccinated is enormous. Vaccines should be the least scary part of the entire pandemic, they save lives and help protect yourself and others. The sooner everyone gets vaccinated the sooner life can resume.
Photography and Text by Aaron Graybill, Copyright 2021
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Merion Botanical Park 2021
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Waiting for time to pass is the feeling of quarantine. Waiting for good or bad news and waiting for days to pass. Nature can both accentuate or soften the passage of time. Leafless trees in winter make time feel static, but new blooms bring a feeling of renewal.
The Merion Botanical Park series was created to capture the anachrony of the quarantine experience. This takes a normally familiar scene, a public park, and magnifies its details to recontextualize the park experience and offers a refreshing look into the beauty in the austerity that late winer is known for.
The portfolio juxtaposes life and death, takes the big picture and the small details, and acknowledges that focus must be selective.
