I took this picture with a deliberate intention to convey a certain meaning. Of course its a bit contrived. Nevertheless, it remains one of my favorite portraits of Jazmine Linnea Kelekay: A beautiful young Swedish and Ethiopian woman of Finnish nationality. A Scandinubian, if you will (please do). The prominently displayed flags of Finland and Sweden juxtaposed with Jasmines earrings (shaped like the continent of Africa, containing within them the green-yellow-red bands of Ethiopias flag) help to illustrate the intersection of worlds, languages and cultures in the midst of which this gorgeous girl stands. The setting aboard a boat further reinforces the idea of being somehow in-between, not easily identifiable as belonging to a particular place on the map. This photo also reveals her birthmark, seldom visible in pictures, which seems to have a map-like quality in this context (Set sail for the Teardrop Peninsula and Cheek Island). The abrupt contrast in tones over only this particular small surface area subtly suggests or reminds us that the blend that constitutes the harmonious whole of Jasmine is not entirely homogenized. There are edges and seams where seemingly incongruous elements collide. Sometimes at acute angles. Sometimes perpendicular. Im endlessly enamored and fascinated by the unfathomable depths of my ladys soul, the rich complexity of her self-expression, the inexplicable precociousness of her maturity, insight and wisdom. In the narrower alleyways and shallower pools of my mind, I may at times marvel at the supposed novelty of this rare beauty or the unique vantage point of which she offers me a glimpse, but I must never allow myself to regard her as merely an amusing curiosity or an exotic spice to be sprinkled liberally atop an otherwise bland world, thereby magically lending it the zesty flavor it so desperately lacks. The reason this is heavily on my mind is this: Ive been working on an ambitious remix of a song, the theme and lyrical content of which is - quite frankly - vulgar, flippant, frivolous, dismissive, condescending and boldly cavalier in its objectification, fetishization, exotification and general commodification of foreign women, actually alluding repeatedly back to a sustained metaphorical motif likening them to luxury import automobiles, and so forth. Im more than a little disgusted with myself for initially enjoying it enough to have made significant progress nearing completion of my remix, all the while selectively tuning out or excusing the blatant disrespect as an acceptable and indeed, inevitable, part of the status quo. Though I applied a great deal of effort to crafting my take on the track, I am now extremely conflicted over whether to share it with anyone, as I know that doing so would serve to condone and thus perpetuate a decidedly ugly aspect of popular culture. The reason I have shared all of these thoughts is that I am currently aboard a plane flight on my way to see Jasmine in her home country. I am equipped with sky-high wi-fi and confined to a cramped little space in which I almost had the audacity to caption this photo with a carelessly concise, boneheadedly-blunt, thoroughly thoughtless, and devastatingly disrespectful: #AmericanYouKnowIHadToCopThatForeign ... and I thought, I can do better.... for Jasmine, whose otherness does not define her in my eyes. An incredible praise-worthy person. A beautiful, deep, and brilliant individual, who - like another famous princess bearing the same name - is not a prize to be won, but an incomparable irreplaceable one-of-a-kind soul to be treasured, cherished, and adored. Love you, Jazzi.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 19:03:57 +0000
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