A Caribbean People
[ongoing]
[ongoing]
Photography and words by Frederique Rapier
Make-up by Viola Bea - www.violabea.com
"The first instalment of the A Caribbean People series was realised in collaboration with COMPLEXD Magazine in a two-fold concept: representing the diversity of Caribbean people across all islands and celebrating women’s natural beauty.
The project stems from my desire to create a visual mosaic of Caribbean people in a manner that removes external associations such as nationality, or the attempt to label and trace ethnic heritage. While the process of finding subjects involves selecting from all islands, those details are undisclosed in order for the viewer to have direct interaction with all these faces as one people. Islanders might feel strongly about their nationality in some situations, while in others, their cultural and ethnic heritage might take precedence. Here, we only have to appreciate the unifying factor of simply being Caribbean.
Parallel to this is the particular framing and close-up view of our subjects to challenge COMPLEXD readers’ notion of beauty head on. The subjects stare right at the viewer at what could be deemed as an ‘unflattering’ angle. The skin is left bare and the treatment raw for the eye to gradually ease into the textures and variations in complexions, the shapes of their faces, and the colours of their eyes. I hope that you can find beauty, power and integrity in these women and yourselves by connecting with these images that have not been modelled to unrealistic and unachievable ‘perfection’.
This brave new look on editorial beauty is a testament to celebrating women and embracing what makes us imperfectly perfect. The hard work is in believing it within ourselves.
A Caribbean People is an ongoing project."
Published in COMPLEXD Magazine Island Issue 08 www.complexd.co.uk
Make-up by Viola Bea - www.violabea.com
"The first instalment of the A Caribbean People series was realised in collaboration with COMPLEXD Magazine in a two-fold concept: representing the diversity of Caribbean people across all islands and celebrating women’s natural beauty.
The project stems from my desire to create a visual mosaic of Caribbean people in a manner that removes external associations such as nationality, or the attempt to label and trace ethnic heritage. While the process of finding subjects involves selecting from all islands, those details are undisclosed in order for the viewer to have direct interaction with all these faces as one people. Islanders might feel strongly about their nationality in some situations, while in others, their cultural and ethnic heritage might take precedence. Here, we only have to appreciate the unifying factor of simply being Caribbean.
Parallel to this is the particular framing and close-up view of our subjects to challenge COMPLEXD readers’ notion of beauty head on. The subjects stare right at the viewer at what could be deemed as an ‘unflattering’ angle. The skin is left bare and the treatment raw for the eye to gradually ease into the textures and variations in complexions, the shapes of their faces, and the colours of their eyes. I hope that you can find beauty, power and integrity in these women and yourselves by connecting with these images that have not been modelled to unrealistic and unachievable ‘perfection’.
This brave new look on editorial beauty is a testament to celebrating women and embracing what makes us imperfectly perfect. The hard work is in believing it within ourselves.
A Caribbean People is an ongoing project."
Published in COMPLEXD Magazine Island Issue 08 www.complexd.co.uk
The project will include both male and female subjects and encompass all Caribbean island nations.
