First United
Another church photoshoot...
12.30.2023
Some History
There’s an old church in Czechoslovakia that has been said to be haunted (ooo). It was built in the beginning of the 14th century, though its countless, inexplicable fires and lack of attendees led it to its current decay.
The space was brought back to life by an installation artist, Jakob Hadrava, in the 19th century. Hadrava sculpted ghosts to sit in the pews to comment on the church’s haunted past. Additionally, the church couldn’t be deemed a historic site because people were afraid of it, so it literally just sits in Czechoslovakia, where these ghost sculptures are now decaying.
This church is the inspiration for this photoshoot.
Background/Foreground
My friends and I created the concept of draping colorful tulle over each model to incorporate color into the scene of ghosts, inspired by Florence and the Machine's music video called "Big God." I spray painted designs on some of the tulle, creating more dimension and texture to the material and overall outcome of the photos.
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This shoot definitely comments on aspects of queerness. We didn't have a story lined up, and the concepts we played with are quite subjective, provocative, and sac-religious. Which, to me, is the point.
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Take Away
For me, this shoot was a chance for my friends to come together and take pictures. It was absurdly fun.
I loved editing these photos with layers and different color schemes, making them weird and trippy negatives of something beyond this external world.
I am proud of the people who pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to model. I am also proud of myself for using the lessons I've learned from hosting community photoshoots in Santa Cruz to be more organized for this shoot in Chicago.
There was a lot of hard work and wonderful collaboration that went into this day, and I am super happy with the results. I loved seeing our ideas in action.
Thank you to Natalie Serratos for helping take pictures, it was an honor to work with you on this spooky and funky project. 𖤓
