This group of four Polaroid photographs are the first taken in what would eventually become an ongoing series. I am an avid, or perhaps addicted thrift store junkie. I found a Polaroid box camera at a Goodwill in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Around this same time I had a conversation about photography and had gotten the idea to do some documenting of the Native and Indigenous people who I know or run into at art events, exhibtions and related gatherings. Like many denizens of the 21st century, I had taken and had seen many Polaroid photos. I was also curious about the film itself, at the time I had heard it was being made again after being discontinued in 2008. This led me to watch the documentary "Time Zero: The Last Year of Polaroid Film."(2012) After watching this I had no idea how close we were to losing this ubiquitous pack film. I felt it was the perfect medium to document with. Another influence on my project was having seen the
Photo/Synthesis exhibtion at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Oklahoma. I was struck by the power of Will Wilson countering the long-standing yet illusory notion of Native people being a part of the so-called "vanishing race." Agencey is one of the conerstones of the exhibit and directly influnced my want to create photos of Native and Indigneous people in casual settings, with no poses or studio sets. A simple reflection of the worlds we exisit in as contemporary people. The start of this photographic journey begain with these pictures taken of my good friends and fellow artists Jasmin Arriaga and Micah "Werewulf" Wesley. We spent many an hour and after-hour hanging out and talking about films and art. Later when I was accepted into the MFA program at OU, they both gave me good advice and dropped hints about the different professors and how to navigate them and their expectations. Micah is also an old friend who I met at IAIA. His friendship and help has been huge over the years, so it is great that he is part of the start of this series.
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