FREE THE WORK
Photograph by Maya June Mansour
Maya June Mansour is one of 20 Fellows who were awarded the inaugural Image Equity Fellowship. Learn more here.
“Calm” sketch (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Diptych of two polaroid images of Maya in a white bathtub—the first with her looking at her reflection in the window and the second with her looking directly at the camera.
In her ongoing series Light Brown Butterfly, Maya June Mansour investigates the lasting physical and emotional impact of an act of sexual assault she experienced in her youth. Mansour was prompted to begin the projects after being diagnosed with an ovarian cyst that formed as a result of internalized stress and anger from the event.
Within Thee, The Universe (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Polaroid diptych in which the left side shows Maya sitting on a bed facing the camera with her legs crossed, and the right shows Maya in the same setting but with a mirror above her face, reflecting a mountain landscape with a white sky.
Working between a variety of mediums, from 35mm film to Polaroids to multi-frame cameras, Mansour’s series of self-portraits depict the non-linear process of healing, describing each of the photographs as “pages from a journal.” Beauty is an integral part of the work and her creative process, acting both as a tool of self-care as well as an exploration of the spiritual attributes beauty can offer.
Heaven is Here If We Want It (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Maya, from the torso up, faces the camera with her arms crossed and hands on her heart, covering her naked chest. The black and white image takes up the entirety of a negative strip, so the image is bordered with sprocket holes and text that says "ILFORD HP5."
“I want victims or survivors of sexual assault to feel seen in a way that they haven’t before,” she says. “I’ve never really resonated with the stories or the phrase #MeToo before, so this is my version of that.” The mirror, a recurring motif, integrates Mansour’s emotional journey of reflection to create this work, while also asking viewers to consider their own life and position as it pertains to sexual violence and patriarchy.
I am calm and the river is dry (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Diptych that shows two images of Maya in a white bathtub with a mirror behind it. The image on the left shows Maya with her head on the right side of the tub, lying down with her eyes closed. The image on the right shows Maya screaming at the camera.
In I’m Still Here (2022), a small mirror featuring Mansour’s reflection is almost invisible against the larger interior space, hinting at the ways in which trauma can often be invisible on the outside. “When you have that kind of trauma it becomes a part of you, it informs everything,” Mansour says. “This photograph shows how it’s almost easy to look at a person and not see it—but once you see my face in the mirror, it’s impossible to miss.”
Editorial statement by Aperture.
Untitled (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Maya's face appears on the the left side of the frame, looking back into a mirror where her reflection shows a fuller view of her body, from the torso up.
Maybe one day I’ll open up about what happened to me (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Maya sits on a stool against a white background. Her legs sit on the seat and her body faces to the left, crouching over her legs so that she is in a ball. She holds the camera in front of her head with her arms tucked into her body, taking up as little space as possible.
Azadi (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Two rows of four rectangular slides stacked on top of each other depict Maya running in and out of the frame in her underwear.
Temple (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Two rows of four rectangular slides stacked on top of each other depict the lower half of Maya's body hunched over her legs.
Dear Body, What’s the Score? (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Camera looks over Maya's left shoulder as she sits in a white bathtub, holding a circular mirror, observing her reflection.
I’m still here (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
A wood panel living room with a window that looks out on to treetops, a yellow chair, and black fireplace. A circular mirror sits on top of the fireplace, and inside the mirror is a reflection of Maya holding a shutter release cable.
Always Here (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Maya peers at the camera through a window that is reflecting the skyline of a mountain range at sunset. She wears a floor length green dress with a black circle that hits her hip. Her left hand is reaching behind her back and holding her right arm.
Unprotected (2022) by Maya June MansourFREE THE WORK
Maya sits nude in a chair on a porch with red brick that looks out onto treetops. She is curled up in a ball and her back is to the camera. There is a black curly wire that stars at the bottom of the frame and goes across the brick into the chair where Maya sits.
Maya June Mansour
Click below to see more work from this California-based image maker:
Web: mayajunemansour.com
IG: @mayajune
Explore the other 2022 Image Equity Fellows’ final projects and learn more about the Fellowship here.
