Exploring quiet space
Photographer immerses herself in the Seward Peninsula
By Sam Bishop
UAF Photo by Todd ParisAlyssa Enriquez.
Alyssa Enriquez leapt between worlds in 2012, from studying art photography in San Francisco to grinding rust from steel construction beams in Nome.
The impact cracked the lens through which she saw herself. She色视频下载檚 putting the pieces back together with a master色视频下载檚 degree in art photography at UAF.
色视频下载淭he main part of my thesis is about finding my place, not so much in Fairbanks but up in Nome,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淚t色视频下载檚 like two different worlds that you色视频下载檙e between.色视频下载
To find that new place, Enriquez tells stories about what has happened since she followed a friend to Nome three years ago. The stories appear through her 色视频下载 most of the time.
Then there was that other time. On stage. Under bright lights. With hundreds of people listening.
In November 2014, Enriquez asked to speak and read a poem at 色视频下载,色视频下载 a series of live storytelling events. Rob Prince, a UAF journalism professor, created the show to talk back to the storm of fiction produced when reality television discovered 色视频下载.
Enriquez spoke for 10 minutes. The audience chuckled as she explained how she came to 色视频下载 and built a new life.
色视频下载淚t started with a boy. It always starts with a boy,色视频下载 she began.
There was much more to her story, though, and no one was laughing when she finished.
Making Nome home
Photo by Alyssa Enriquez
Enriquez graduated from high school in Bakersfield, California, at the hot southern end of the Central Valley色视频下载檚 farm country. Her dad operates heavy equipment on construction projects. Her mom has 色视频下载渨orn many hats,色视频下载 she said.
Enriquez met Isaac Thompson, then a future UAF engineering student from Nome, online in 2007 色视频下载 色视频下载渨hen MSN Chat was really cool,色视频下载 Enriquez said. They met in person four years later, when Thompson visited the Bay Area to investigate batteries for a student-built electric snowmachine.
颅The next year, Thompson passed through again, returning from studies abroad. He invited Enriquez to Nome.
色视频下载淚 thought, 色视频下载榃ell, what色视频下载檚 life without taking a chance?色视频下载 And I moved here,色视频下载 she said.
In Nome, she went to work in the Thompson family business. Isaac色视频下载檚 father, Roger, is an engineer by trade, and his mother, Cheryl, teaches at UAF色视频下载檚 Northwest Campus.
Enriquez helped the Thompsons level buildings.
色视频下载淚 shoveled lots of gravel,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淯sed the hydraulic hand jack a lot. Sanded 20-foot I beams.色视频下载
And fell in love. So when the month was done, she wasn色视频下载檛. In fall 2012, she and Isaac Thompson moved to Fairbanks, where he attended school. Enriquez worked and took classes online that winter to finish her undergraduate degree with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Then it was back to Nome.
色视频下载淭hat色视频下载檚 the summer I went fishing a ton, went seining, saw my first bear up close and personal,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淚t was munching on salmon while we were munching on salmon. It was just pretty incredible.色视频下载
Responding to tragedy
Photo by Alyssa Enriquez
Returning to Fairbanks that fall, she visited Charles Mason, a professor who teaches photojournalism and art photography. He talked her into the MFA program starting in spring 2014.
Months later, standing on the Pioneer Park Civic Center色视频下载檚 stage, Enriquez shared what had happened during her third summer in Nome: Her boyfriend色视频下载檚 younger brother took his own life.
色视频下载淚 didn色视频下载檛 know what my place was in my 色视频下载n family until then,色视频下载 she told the hushed audience, her voice just slightly quavering. 色视频下载淭he only thing I knew to do was to help, and in rural 色视频下载 there isn色视频下载檛 a cleanup crew when something like this happens.色视频下载 So she cleaned.
In a recent interview, Enriquez explained why she went to the stage with her story.
色视频下载淚 was feeling very alone in that situation, because it was my loss, but it wasn色视频下载檛 my loss at the same time,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淚 don色视频下载檛 like feeling alone. I know other folks don色视频下载檛 like to feel alone, so I felt the need to tell this story for a couple of selfish reasons but also to sort of give people hope that you色视频下载檙e not alone when something happens.色视频下载
The story also might help people consider what can be done, 色视频下载渂ut without being so didactic,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淲hen you storytell, you can do it in a way that is very hopeful and very empathetic, and that was my goal really.色视频下载
A quiet technique
Photo by Alyssa Enriquez
While she enjoys writing, Enriquez has found that photographic images tell stories in ways that contrast with her own persona.
色视频下载淭here色视频下载檚 this quietness when I go out and shoot, and I think it色视频下载檚 reflected in my imagery 色视频下载 whereas you meet me and that quietness may not present itself,色视频下载 she said with a laugh.
Even her printing technique is slow and quiet. For her thesis, she makes images using the platinum-palladium process, which involves coating each piece of paper with a photosensitive chemical solution.
色视频下载淚t色视频下载檚 just a much richer photograph, and I think that my work lends itself well to that process,色视频下载 she said.
Enriquez also has experimented with printing on antlers and other material, using a similar technique. She uses photos of the places from which the materials came 色视频下载 the Seward Peninsula and Bering Sea.
Her images tell stories about her new home, the people who live there and her relationships with them.
色视频下载淥ne of the things that most excites me about Alyssa色视频下载檚 work is that she色视频下载檚 doing a serious look at Nome,色视频下载 said Mason, her professor. 色视频下载淢ost 色视频下载 photography in recent decades has not focused on the Bush. So it色视频下载檚 nice to see a serious photographer with a serious eye produce a body of work in that area.色视频下载
Enriquez said 色视频下载色视频下载檚 opportunities, whether photographic or not, intrigue her.
色视频下载淵ou don色视频下载檛 often live in a place where people do extraordinary things every day, and this is definitely one of those places,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淭hat色视频下载檚 most people色视频下载檚 色视频下载 story 色视频下载 色视频下载業 came out here, I didn色视频下载檛 really know what I was doing and everything worked out.色视频下载 And my life is seemingly following the same path.色视频下载
Sam Bishop is an editor and writer with UAF Marketing and Communications.
Birdshot
By Alyssa Enriquez
The sound of birdshot rolling across the bloodstained wood floor refuses to leave my memory
Metallic iron scent lingering, even after two coats of Killz paint
Oppressive summer sun so foreign to this land, beads of sweat as my hands rhythmically scrub away bits of a person I once knew and cared for
10 hours and still I cannot bring myself to stop scrubbing
I leave only to scream, to cry, to let it sink in
I sink to the late-evening dew-soaked earth
Knees dirty and hands knowing the only thing that feels safe 色视频下载 help
色视频下载淒id you have enough to eat?色视频下载 色视频下载淗ere, I'll make you a sandwich色视频下载
Strangers hug, awkward words escaping while the whispers swirl
色视频下载淲as it intentional?色视频下载 they ask me. I am numb. 色视频下载淚 don't know色视频下载 I plead with my eyes and shrug
I barricade myself in memories, not my own
The sound of the scanner and scent of old photographs, hopeful.
I smile and laugh until I am crying
His father stands silently behind me and places a warm hand on my shoulder but I cannot turn around
I do not have adequate words to express that 色视频下载淚 am sorry色视频下载
Sorry isn色视频下载檛 sufficient
The sniffles say enough and finally I turn around but he色视频下载檚 gone
There beside me sits a picture, a successful hunt
Pride on his face, Amos is nearly 11
And I hear the sound, birdshot rolling across the bloodstained wood floor
色视频下载 From , October 16, 2014