Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie LA. by Sara Macel

Sara Macel

Currently residing in Brooklyn, NY

Website: http://www.saramacel.com

Work Statement:
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, surrounded by a community that believed in Jesus, high school football, and the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Within this community I was somewhat of an outsider, though I would put my level of rebellion on par with that of any typical teenager. The only real thing that set me apart from the others was my camera. And once I picked it up, there was really no turning back. My photography stems from my personal life, and therefore the South has always been a favorite subject of mine. In March 2006, I traveled to New Orleans to photograph the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina approximately six months after the storm. As a child of the Gulf Coast region, I felt a sense of duty to bear witness to the ongoing struggle to rebuild and to help in some way. Beyond seeking out photographs of the destruction, I was also able to capture images from the city's the Saint Patrick's Day parade and remnants from Louisiana's plantation era. Living and photographing in the South, I have witnessed the region's familiarity with defeat. From the Civil War to the constant threats of nature and the overwhelming heat, Southerners have an ingrained ability to bear hardship. This stubborn insistence on surviving was never more palpable to me than on this trip.

Bio:
Sara Macel moved from Texas to New York at the age of eighteen. She received a BFA in Photography and Imaging from New York University in 2003, where she received the Tobias Award for her project titled Kiss + Tell. After graduating, she spent two years as the assistant and studio manager to Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson and currently works as a production assistant and freelance photographer. Her work has been included in several group shows in New York, including the Unframed/First Look exhibition for emerging photographers at Sean Kelly Gallery in 2004 and currently at the New Century Artists Gallery. In early 2007, her Kiss + Tell series will be shown at the Center for Photography at Woodstock in a show by the same name.