Cajsa Lilliehook covers the best in virtual world screenshot art and digital painting
Whiskey Monday introduced me to Illy S’s photostream with this painfully evocative raw photo, part of a six-photo series featuring unedited photos of the same woman with the scars of a whip on her back. Musical inspirations for the series include Nina Simone’s “Isn’t it a Pity”, Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and Outkast’s “Liberation.” The series’ theme is power, this picture in particular, titled after Malcolm X’s powerful quote, “The most unprotected person in America Is the Black Woman.”
I love how Illy S. shot her pics at sunset when a little moonlight brightens the gloaming just enough. In some ways, the way the dusk hides her scars, making us try harder to make them out to recognize what they are, involve us more deeply, invests us in the picture.
As in the Great Migration, her photos move to Brooklyn -- click here:
“We Live In Brooklyn, Baby” takes its title from Roy Ayers’ “We Live In Brooklyn, Baby”, another raw shot taken in the dusk, with the silvery blue light from the moon casting shadows from the buildings and fire escapes. Illy S. does not shoot the obvious. She makes us work to see her picture. We cannot pass it by.
“Warrior” is a photo created to amplify awareness of the violent coup in Burma (Myanmar) that some feckless coup-curious Americans think should happen here.
Illy S is not one of the feckless ones. From her description, “The strength of a warrior is not defined by the wars one wins; but the times one seeks for peace.”— dedicated to those we have lost from the situation that Burma is still facing, my heart goes out to the families and all affected by this Li Aoki I also dedicate this to you for your courage and bravery and know I stand with you within the fight for the freedom of the people,” If you’re interested in learning more about Burma, the CIA World Factbook is a good place to start. No matter what you think of it, the Factbook is comprehensive. George Orwell lived in Burma, working as a police officer. He wrote a devastating novel about that time called “Burmese Days”, though it’s been nearly thirty years since I read it so I remember the feeling of it, not the story.
Illy S. is someone who has more on her mind than snapping photos. She has a desire to communicate about the issues facing the world, the oppression of Black women, the violence when democracies fail, and even an introduction to Black movement music. I love that many of her photos are raw shots. She has an album “Raw Photography” with eighty-one photos that show the vitality and variety of her ability to produce great photos without editing. Follow her. It will be worth it.
And thanks, Whiskey Monday, for the tip.
See all of Cajsa's Choices here. Follow Cajsa on Flickr, on Twitter or on her blog
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