Not in an ethereal, vague way. But in a literal way. She was assigned to me through the Alphabet Alliance of Color’s summer institute where experienced local QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community organizers pass down their skills to newer ones. We were prompted to pick our top three choices for mentors and, I’ll be honest, Constance Blakeley wasn’t in my top three. My top pick — an Asian American columnist writing about social justice, culture, and equity with a focus on marginalized communities. I thought the best pick for me would be someone with a similar background, in profession or in identity, or both.
In March/April, I started a small photography project to capture some friends and mutuals during their own quarantines. I wanted to get an outside-in perspective and started out photographing by standing outside of their windows, looking in. But as you’ll notice, the perspectives change throughout different participants. Some pictures ended up being taken through FaceTime; some were taken on friends’ porches as I sat in their yard to catch up and talk; and some were strictly taken from behind the glass.
