To Change Everything

“To Change Everything” documents anarchists, antifascists, and abolitionists alike, and the world they hope to create in outward opposition to America's colonial history and material values.

In the fracturing political landscape of America, a growing community of anarchists, abolitionists, and anti-fascists alike position themselves against America and its values. I aim to explore the world which those I’ve met seek to create, a world founded upon principles of mutual aid, of trust, of self-autonomy, of defending and cherishing our environment, of militancy, of the abolition of hierarchies, government, and the carceral system. This loosely knit community puts compassion and freedom at the forefront of guiding principles, where trust is currency and autonomy is respected.

Anarchists and abolitionists have faced a long history of repression, especially in the United States. Anarchists such as Emma Goldman saw themselves deported. Self-professed revolutionaries such as Fred Hampton tragically saw themselves assassinated by the State. Even as recently as 2023, an anarchist and anti-fascist named “Tortuguita” was killed in their tent while occupying a forest in Atlanta, just months after my time spent there taking photographs. Government agencies and media companies often choose to represent these groups as extremist, fringe, and baseless. My photos try approaching this subject matter from a new position, replacing the violent and unsympathetic representations normally shown to us with a perspective more reflective of their motivations and values. 

The people I photograph often prefer to stay anonymous, due to the threats imposed by government agencies, and also by malicious individuals operating within America’s far-right networks. This has made finding subjects willing to be photographed a challenge in itself, requiring me to travel frequently, and at times to delete photos on location that may reveal identifying features of activists risking their freedom and lives. In a community so reliant on trust, I feel an extra level of responsibility and intimacy when taking photos with individuals, and hope those feelings can resonate when this body of work is completed.

A guiding question since photography’s birth has always been ; how can photography function as a tool for social change? I intend to continue the tradition of pursuing one of possible, infinite answers.