Kija Lucas

Bio

Kija Lucas was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated with a BFA in photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2006. She is currently working as a photographer and educator in San Francisco.

Statement

Arbitrary labels such as race, nationality, and class allow us to believe that we have more in common with our next-door neighbor than we do with someone we have never met. In all actuality these false labels cause us to separate into curdled masses, migrating through life, afraid to look outside of our own experience. As an image-maker and a city dweller, this existence is a difficult one to maintain. One has to learn empathy and attempt to look at others through a lens that eliminates personal experience and asks questions.

While wandering the streets of Guadalajara with only broken Spanish and a camera, I attempted to make connections. My anxiety heightened every time I raised the camera to my face; I probably would have been more comfortable if I were to stick to making images of architecture. I couldn't, however, ignore that in a city, the people are a necessary component of the image. I knew I had to meet some in order to document this city.

Because I hold the camera, this image cannot be solely about the subjects. It is as much about photographing in a foreign space, as it is about two schoolgirls working in their family's bakery in Guadalajara. It is about losing anxiety for one moment to document an interaction, and a little girl's flirtatious response to the camera, which makes physical the filters through which we see someone who is outside of our personal bubble.