Gabriel Lopez

About The Artwork

Brielle and Kashmir, 2022, Photograph

This photograph is of a mother, Brielle, and her son, Kashmir. Within photography, I feel like it's rare that you come across a photograph of a single mother–mothers and children are usually accompanied with a male figure which is pushed by society as a proper portrayal of a perfect family; and secondly, people with tattoos–people with tattoos have often been stereotyped as incompetent or gang affiliated. While these social stigmas are not true, I think this image is important to show these underrepresented groups in a positive light.

Ivy, 2022, Photograph

This image is of my friend, Ivy, who I've known since high school. Ivy is a self-taught painter and tagger. Ivy stands in her art studio that she and her grandfather built during the pandemic. Also in the photograph is an unfinished art piece Ivy made herself along with her materials and personal belongings, like the cans of spray paint and her sweater. Whenever I see this image, I think of collaboration. The studio being a collaboration between Ivy and her grandfather, and the image being a collaboration between Ivy and myself.