Introduction

Five things about me:

1. I'm a photographer, and most of my work is fine art self-portraiture. I also take pictures of my daughter frequently, I also do still life photography, and toy photography as well

2. I'm a nerd, I watch a lot of anime, I read comics, and manga, I'm a cosplayer, I watch a lot of pop culture shows and movies, etc.

3. I am a collector, I collect figures, statues, graphic t-shirts, etc.

4. I want to be a photography educator. I want to teach others what I love, which is photography.

5. I am a mom. I have a daughter, her name is Dahiana. 

Five social things I'm passionate about:

1. I am passionate about mental health, which I think is an important topic to talk about. A lot of people struggle to even accept that they need help. We need to talk about it more and make sure every day more people know the importance of taking care of our mental health.

2. I am also passionate about the addition to social media, it worries me how the addiction grows by the second, and we are losing a little touch of reality. We are not paying attention to what is around us because we are more worried about what is going on on Tik Tok, Instagram, etc.

3. As an immigrant myself, I am passionate about immigrant equality, especially as an immigrant artist, it would be nice if we get the same opportunities as the majority does.

4. Gun control is something that worries me, and I am passionate to talk about it because as a mom gun scares me, and worrying about it because I am scared for my daughter and all the kids of this country, is something I shouldn't worry about, but here we are.

5. Lastly, I am very passionate about Beauty standards. We live in a world that is dominated by social media, and with that, we have people who pretend they have a perfect life. Also, we have filters that erase "people's imperfections" which is a problem and a bad example to young girls and people with insecurities. These factors and many more create beauty standards that many people can follow, and that creates problems such as depression, and sadly suicide. 

Nan Goldin: Photography And LBGTQ+ Activism

Nan Goldin is a photographer and an activist. The main themes of Nan Goldin's works are love, sexuality, and gender. Through her intense, personal, captivating, and intimate photographs Nan Goldin is one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.

The name Nan Goldin is associated, almost intrinsically, with provocation. Provocation and vindication that she does not show only in her photographs but that it is a way of life, a declaration of principles and values ​​that she has made clear, in recent days, leading protests in front of prestigious art galleries in New York. Nan Goldin continues to be a warrior, an unconditional fighter for just causes, and the visibility of the forgotten.

Nan Goldin took a self-portrait (shown above) to remind herself why she should never have a relationship with the man who had done this to her, her partner until the moment he nearly blinded her in one eye with a beating.

My self-portraiture

In my self-portrait, I wanted to make a statement because I have been mistreated many times in my life, and is not in my nature to confront people. I find photography to be the only way I can express my feelings. I have the words that have hurt me the most on my chest and my mouth has a taping that conveys all the times that I have wanted to say something, and I've been silent but wanting to explode from the frustration. I used Nan Goldin as an inspiration because her work inspired me to express myself more through self-portraiture. She taught me that it is important to speak up and that the documentation of our pain is also a reminder that we can overcome our darkest moments. She also taught me that it is important to express through photography whatever is important to us, because at some point people will notice, and it will have more meaning as time passes. It is important to be persistent, and most importantly, believe in ourselves.