 ‘Greed is the knife and the scars run deep’ Damien Dempsey A woman’s place is in the revolution. This shoot is an homage to revolutionary imagery in a way that brings it forward into today’s world. We live in an age where everything is online, and we are consumed by it. We have the influencer capitalism and gloss on one side and then genocide, violence and war on the other. We scroll our phones and go between horrific images of war and suffering to garish shiny images of influencers selling products. It’s jarring and often divisive. We have seen people online condemn those who are not constantly speaking up about politics and we’ve seen the opposite of that too. Instagram has created bubbles where people are seeing content aimed at them so we are caught in a loop hole. We all know this and the word is spreading. We are starting to see high profile people using their platforms, keeping their light content while randomly posting in a way that allows the message to seep out into the mainstream. There’s a reason why the kids are speaking up and the older generation are not and its quiet simply that the younger ones are sharing online. The older generation are being fed by main stream media. But Perhaps those who don’t post politics allow us some reprieve from the bombardment of sadness. Perhaps looking at that puppy in a diamanté hat is frivolous next to a bombed-out house but then the risk of constant devastation and evil images can make one desensitized and bring on depression. And when we are depressed its harder to come together and fight for a better future. We need to allow for both, but the danger of constant non-political content is the vapid and empty feeling which also leads to a hopelessness. The gloss too is jarring and at this point, and dare we say it; Boring. We are tired of sell sell sell in a time when capitalism is falling, we are, quite simply, looking for more. We don’t have the answers yet. It seems that democracy, capitalism, communism, socialism etc. are not working alone but perhaps they can offer a new and alternative answer when we take the best of all of these ways to create something we have yet to uncover. In this time there is a sickness of greed that is consuming some, an addiction to greed and power by a small percentage of people and it is the dark cloud that looms over us all, leaving us hopeless and fearful. However, the uprising we are seeing shows us once again that no big changes in society come without a revolution. So with this shoot the idea is to convey a new way a coming together for the better. A new wave of revolution that allows for a celebration of art and imagery with communal empowerment, taking inspiration from those who fought before us. A middle ground wherein we make bold statements but also allow for some light heartedness and joy. Comradery and power. The fact that the shoot is comprised of mainly women and queer identifying people is a comment in and of itself – taking that militant and revolutionary feeling and allowing a place where they’ve often been eradicated or erased. When we are seeing the hard arm of the law with the student uprising in the US and how a predominantly male led hard handed law enforcement is happening, we ask where are the women in this? Perhaps there would be less brutality if the law was comprised of more of female, ethnically diverse and queer identifying people. It's a time for change and the power belongs to the people Thanks to Leah Burke & Sorcha Hackett for styling a lot of these photos To Duc Pham, Aoife Donohue, Dari Sousa and Sage Jaffrey (Sage against the routine) Sorcha Hackett and Leah Burke for modelling - check out their instas! They are all amazing people working towards change
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