trip impressionism

While meditating in Mexico City's Bosque Chapultepec, I crossed paths with an older couple out for an evening stroll. I was taken aback, they were so gently in tune with one another. Squinting into the setting sun, their forms became an abstraction of many great loves that have walked this same path. His broad shoulders and steady gaze, her fuchsia optimism and softness. The neat thing about 'trip impressionism' is that it renders my subjects anonymous, while at the same time amplifying their essence. 

A hopeful romantic, I live and love optimistically, but I'm also wise enough to know when someone's intentions are true. This image is a hat-tip to one of my favorite fairytales — Alice in Wonderland. Specifically, the scene where Alice is challenged to a croquet match by the Queen of Hearts in the royal garden. The Queen is expecting red roses and nothing less, but there has been a mistake—!  The royal attendants find themselves furiously painting the roses red... but you can't fool the queen of hearts. 

The ultra-red of the roses in this photograph comes from the electric glow of a streetlamp. The effect is similar to a tradition in queer culture known as "the sidewalk sale." When the club lets out, hearts still beating to the disco swap glances through rose-colored glasses, looking for a last-chance dance.