5 Pacific Northwest Photographers

"Jo Cosme is a Native Puerto Rican mixed media artist and photographer who addresses social issues surrounding the ongoing colonization of her Homeland, Puerto Rico (Borikén)."

"A year after Hurricane María, she was displaced to Seattle, and was shocked by how little North Americans know about the exploitative relationship their Country has with hers."

"This inspired her to create works that would provoke reflections on the effects of disaster capitalism and colonialism in Borikén."

"As a fat-bodied person, I am told that I must operate under shame and shrink myself as much as possible. When I stood in front of my lens nude for the first time, it created a radical change in self-perception."

"The images serve as an open ended and complicated relationship built on the notion that there is no way to grow into someone I can love through hate."

"What Good is Fruit that is not Sweet? is a photography project documenting the life of Kim’s mother, Hyon, as she ages and confronts changes in her health and mobility. It explores their relationship as parent and child and how roles shift as time persists."

"These circumstances also pose the questions of whether we can quantify or qualify how good a person is at fulfilling a societal role and whether the romanticization of the ‘American Dream’ can influence those parameters."

"This body of work utilizes the indexical nature of photographs to world-build, create and preserve a past that is nostalgic and reminiscent, regardless of whether it is factual."

"Taking Note In The Splendor is a project which examines the way in which humans have asserted their dominance over the earth and its environments for power."

"I see each of these facets coming together over a period of several years, showing an intricate picture of how earth exists both presently and contemplating how it will change with time"

"The work will evolve over time to focus on exploring the destructive and careless tendencies exhibited by humans, leading to broad global effects such as climate change, habitat loss, and the commercialization of animals for capital gain."

"Using different techniques, my work starts in the camera as I look beyond the object to explore unseen elements and abstractions of the visceral world."

"Reality recedes and light, colour and pattern create fragments of mysterious ‘otherness’ in these painterly images."