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Reclaim the Night
Bea Rodrigues
Imagine that, as a woman (or someone identifying as such, or performing femininity), you were able to walk on your own without concern—at any hour, anywhere. Imagine walking at night and not having to worry which road to take, whether this path might be too dark or that path too narrow, whether somebody might be lurking behind the next corner. Imagine not having to carry pepper spray, or learning self-defence, or clenching your keys between your fingers. Imagine reading the news and finding no account of violence against women—of rape, or kidnapping, or murder.
Bea Rodrigues' RECLAIM THE NIGHT is a visualisation of what this scenario would look like. Of a world where women are able to be comfortable out at night—anywhere, regardless of how narrow or vast, bright or dark, empty or crowded the public space might be.
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Bea Rodrigues
I was born in 1987, in a small town in the south east of Brazil. I got out of there as soon as I could, replacing the familiar cobblestone streets with the hectic avenues of never silent São Paulo. My idea of photography as a proof, a trace, a point on a map started then and grew up with me from the sweaty clubs and squats I started taking photographs at to the studio self-portraits I take nowadays. From the idea of proof to the concept of landmarks, photography helps me tell stories, both mine and those of others, or perhaps of all of us. What hurts, what’s untold, what has left, abandonment, my search of identity are all present in my work, making it very personal, a biographical map for others to read.
Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
hey, if I'm alive, I'm winning.
What is a good design for you?
I am not a design student or capable of any design work myself, so I’ll plead the fifth on this one.
What was the most challenging experience during your studies?
please refer, yet again, to the next question.
Who or what inspires you?
honesty, courage, mystery, regardless of what medium they present themselves in. sometimes it's a photograph, sometimes it's a sculpture. a line in a movie or in a text. the way the light hits a completely ordinary-daily-life object, or how someone takes a stand in a tough situation.
How do you approach a new project?
I ask myself a lot of questions. why do I want to do this? is it relevant for someone besides me? how do I move from this vision to reality? how many steps are in the road between those two points in time? will I enjoy doing it? am I ready to treat this topic respectfully? am I ready for the amount of work? the list goes on, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. if I can answer most of these questions with a "yes", then I start working.
What advice would you give to students who just started studying in your programme?
be uncomfortable as much as you can. keep yourselves busy, but be smart about it. Overworking only leads to creative block. have some sense of humour, it's the only coping mechanism that humbles and connects us all. understand that critique says nothing about who you are, just about what you did, and these two things are very different from one another.
Have you changed during your studies? How?
everything changes all the time.
Why did you choose to study in your programme?
please refer to the next question.
What are you not going to miss in your studies?
mondays. and people who insist I should capitalise the first letter of every sentence.
How are you going to celebrate your graduation?
due to current circumstances in the world I might plead the fifth again.
2 comments in total
Love it...
men don't care if you "perform feminity" when they harass you, you're spitting in victims' faces, might as well blame them for what they were wearing