photography – Writers Resist

Found Art by Debbie Hall

Artist’s Statement

My twin creative passions are poetry and photography. Both pursuits involve close attention and discovery—new ways of seeing and understanding. I’ve always been fond of juxtaposition in my writing and in the visual art of photography. In this photo of the back of a heavily etched restroom stall door, I was struck by the seemingly contradictory statements of “Fuck Ice,” and “Be Kind.” And yet, this is where we find ourselves these days.

A Note from Writers Resist
Thank you for reading! If you appreciate creative resistance and would like to support it, you can make a small, medium or large donation to Writers Resist on our Give a Sawbuck page.

My Rape Wasn’t a Choice by Alberto Lau-Chang

Artist’s Statement

I took this picture on May 14, 2022, in San Diego, California, during a Women’s March to protest the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that eventually overturned Roe v. Wade. More than four years later, the message the photograph conveys is still relevant. We all—men, women, and people who choose to identify in a different way—must still fight for body autonomy and integrity of one’s entire self. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of the brave young person in the picture. We did not have a chance to speak, though clearly they wanted me to take their picture. They paused, and moved on. Perhaps when the photo is published somebody will see it and identify them.

I took the image with a Leica Q2 Monochrom (Leica’s spelling), a camera that only takes pictures in black and white. Indeed, one of my favorite modes of expression is black and white photography, and this camera forces a commitment to monochrome. The absence of color relies on economy, analogous to the way poetry relies on the power of fewer words.

Alberto Lau-Chang is a bilingual writer, photographer, and documentary filmmaker. Previously, he was an architect and construction manager. He wrote for the San Diego Reader on photography, art, and architecture. He was born in Guatemala of Chinese parents. Mr. Lau-Chang has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Architecture from Yale University. He studied photography under Walker Evans and architecture under Charles Moore. His virtues are unpublished, and he has no known public vices.

Photograph and Essay by Nina Pak

Resistance Wears Many Faces

By Nina Pak

Resistance wears many faces. Sometimes it marches in the streets, a cry against injustice that refuses to be ignored. Other times it is quiet, invisible. Nothing more than a refusal to yield, a single word withheld when obedience is demanded. Victory is never guaranteed. You may rise against tyranny and prevail, or fall beneath the weight of an abuser’s power. Yet even in defeat, there is a deeper triumph: the knowledge that you stood for yourself, that you did not abandon your own dignity. Too many women are denied even that. Too many are broken, again and again, until the will to resist is gone.

I know this intimately. Abuse has taken many shapes in my life. From childhood molestation, beatings, rape, and the suffocating grip of sociopathic relationships. I carry those scars as lessons. Resistance, for me, was not about becoming hard or meek. It was a long journey of discovery. I slipped from one cruel hand only to find another waiting; the patterns of harm run deep, and breaking free is not a single act but a process of unraveling.

Through it all, I learned to survive, and chose to serve. I have opened my doors and my heart to women who needed refuge. I have given what was never given to me, shelter, support, belief. I have tried to kindle confidence in those who doubted themselves, to mentor and nurture creativity in the young, and tend to the needs of the elderly. I treasure friendships across generations.

I believe this is our calling as women: to be each other’s salvation. No one else will rewrite the paradigm for us. We must protect one another, raise each other up, sometimes above ourselves. We must learn to step back when it allows another woman to step forward, not with envy, but in solidarity. For centuries, we were trained to support men’s lives, their dreams, their greatness. It is time we give that devotion to one another, without jealousy or regret.

My creative work in photography, art, and writing, have given me confidence and a sense of accomplishment. But my proudest moments are not public and not seen. It’s the way we choose to move through life that matters most. The relationships we build and nurture, the people we give our time and energy to, the small acts of kindness. The willingness to be there when needed.

So, if you ask who I am, who Nina Pak is, I will tell you this: I am the one who will step into crisis at my own risk. The one who will give her time and strength to women I believe in. I am the one who found her voice, was pushed down for it, but never lost the will to speak. Who had fear beaten out of her. Who finally had enough. Who learned against all odds to believe in herself. I am not loud, and I do not threaten. But I will not be silenced, and I will not endure mistreatment to myself or those I care about.

We don’t have to fight to make a difference, but we can’t be silent anymore.

After studying painting and printmaking at Evergreen State College in Washington State, and then with a master jeweler in Settle, Nina Pak has since shifted through place and time, with creativity and courage, inspiration and service to the communities in which she’s dwelled. Today, she is a digital photographer, wardrobe stylist, set designer, and hair stylist. Her other projects are usually credited under the name Dreamloka. Explore more of her photography at ninapak.com and follow her on Instagram @ninapak.

A note from Writers Resist
Thank you for reading! If you appreciate creative resistance and would like to support it, you can make a small, medium or large donation to Writers Resist on our Give a Sawbuck page.

Photography by M.R. Mandell

Upper photograph: “America”

Lower photograph: “Bus Stop”

M.R. Mandell is a poet based in Los Angeles. You can find her words in SWWIM, The McNeese Review, HAD, Writers Resist, and others. She is the author of two chapbooks, “Don’t Worry About Me” (Bottlecap Press) and “The Last Girl” (Finishing Line Press). She is a 2024 Pushcart nominee.