Humanity through the looking glass

by LEAH COLE

I welcome you to this space, to see a glimpse into some of the inspiring, magnificent and captivating people I have met on my adventures. Representing a world full of unique brands of beauty, wisdom, dignity and diversity, I have been met with the weird, wonderful and wild.

I have had the privilege to interact with people of vastly differing cultures, experiences that allowed me to scratch the surface and dive into the deep and 'dangerous' parts of the world.

I have lived in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, spent time in a rural jungle village of the Amazonian rainforest. I've lived in secluded and basic indigenous Mayan fishing villages in Mexico, stayed with local families in the sacred valley of Peru and spent months living on a local farm in Guatemala surrounded only by local farmers. These are only a few experiences over the last few years. I gave my trust to strangers, opened my heart, allowing intuition to guide me and curiosity to lead me on my journey. I witnessed first hand, especially in heavily stigmatised places, the misconceptions held and damaging mis-representation I had seen spread.

These moments afforded me the opportunity to reflect on just what is at the heart of disharmony, disconnection and friction.

Achieving peace and unity has been an ambition and goal around the world for centuries and yet the nature and psyche of mankind is such, that this somehow continues to elude us.

Using my interest, love and desire to photograph the powerful beauty of humanity, showcasing the extraordinary beauty in the 'ordinary' people, these photographs hold powerful memories and stories for me. My experiences were eye opening, without doubt the catalyst for the passion project that has become my mission and artistic vocation to promote awareness, receptiveness and appreciation, and asking the world to change fear for fascination.

I witnessed the strive for survival, security, stability or solutions. Challenges, each one of us in our own way, irrespective of our wealth, or lack of, our country of origin, skin colour, language or the heritage we are born into.

Many warned me against travelling alone, saying I was foolish to take this risk and naive to believe I’d be safe. Although well-meaning, my personal experience was a world away from the picture that was painted through their concerns. I was noticing that the majority of people I spoke to, had unease and discomfort, not knowing the unknown. Stopping celebration and connection with others because of stigmas, prejudice, preconception and doubt. Once in these locations, the locals would share how they viewed the UK, this further confirmed the misunderstanding we have from places we are unfamiliar with. We would often discuss the stigmas they faced from the rest of the world, which they often knew very little of, Mexico is the perfect example.

To travel is a luxury and privilege, so we rely often on media, never the less media is often hand picked propaganda that fuels political battles, encouraging separation and supporting control. These falsehoods and heavily biased portrayals can poison the human mind, creating unnecessary fears, barriers and borders. Misconceptions are false ideas or beliefs that often root from pre-mature assumptions, or inherited point of views. Holding these opinions create numerous obstacles to effective problem-solving.

I offer you the chance to take a moment to reflect on your innermost response as you gaze on each subject. Thinking about the countries, communities and the lives of the people in these photos.

Take a moment to think what comes to the surface when thinking of these places.

What do we really know and when do we trust what someone else says is true?

What do I feel or believe when I see the places and the people?

Is it fear? fascination? Compassion?

What judgments do we hold and does this make me uncomfortable?

When do I tell myself what is wrong or right?

Or normal?

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Stories from San Juan below.