I witness, I Observe, I am not, I am.

I witness, I Observe, I am not, I am. contains images compiled of both viewing and contemplation. There is an inherent balance between the concrete representational nature that photography stems from and its continued divergence into a deconstruction and abstraction that leads to further looking and contemplations.

By dually isolating moments and assembling them in unison, an investigation and engagement of discursive moments interweaves concerns of existence. These are focused in racial melancholia, love, growth, inherited trauma, grief, collectivism, and deconstruction. Utilizing this way of looking at occurring dynamics and personal dispositions, this work addresses the importance within this contemporary moment to examine oneself and their surroundings in multiple facets.

These photographs work within this both individually and collectively. Separately each composition fixates on a singular reminder or affirmation relating to these overarching factors within existence. By then bringing these works together episodically, they come together to encompass a whole of these experiences as prompts that charge both myself and their viewers to re-examine the frame of mind and actions our personal circumstances are compiled within.

© Jesse Ly - looking & thinking fondly
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looking & thinking fondly

© Jesse Ly - observe
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observe

© Jesse Ly - The need to rebuild (re-structure and start again)
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The need to rebuild (re-structure and start again)

© Jesse Ly - Briefly & Forever Golden
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Briefly & Forever Golden

© Jesse Ly - Collective Hammers (Portable)
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Collective Hammers (Portable)

© Jesse Ly - making fortune
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making fortune

© Jesse Ly - re-grounded view
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re-grounded view

© Jesse Ly - trust
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trust

© Jesse Ly - the impossibility of whiteness (refusal to acknowledge as and adhere to what may be considered default)
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the impossibility of whiteness (refusal to acknowledge as and adhere to what may be considered default)

© Jesse Ly - renegotiating somewhere between
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renegotiating somewhere between

© Jesse Ly - waiting to feel re-born
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waiting to feel re-born

© Jesse Ly - what does the willow bring?
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what does the willow bring?

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