Wednesday, August 5, 2009

One of these things is not like the others:







I came back from Nicaragua with 13 and a half hours of footage to deconstruct, capture, and ultimately turn into the documentary component of The Trek Project. While looking through one of my tapes I isolated a few of these stills that brought one phrase to mind, as the song on sesame street goes, “one of these things is not like the others”. This concept comes to mind when I look at footage or pictures of me with the community, despite my feeling quite at home within the community; it is evident that I am still an outsider. I think that is something important for me, and others, to remember when doing work in, or, when creating work about, communities other than their own. Despite my comfort within Gualacatu, I must remember that it is still a marginalized community in Northern Nicaragua and I cannot hope to fully understand life, or the mindsets of the people in this community, my perspective on this entire project still comes from my position as a white, blonde, Jewish, United States Citizen.