Publicity: Melissa Alcena
In the latest Exposure column, Art Director Gem Fletcher describes the visual storytelling of Melissa Alcena, a Bahamian native who explores the depths of her culture and identity through calm, delicate portraits
Visual storytelling about the Bahamas is often limited to a binary frame of poverty or paradise that is often illuminated by tourists and outsiders. Melissa Alcena uses photography to build a new collective identity and to open up dialogues about the island and its people.
The Bahamian image maker grew up in Nassau, the picturesque capital, but didn't really understand her culture until she returned from studying photography in Oakville, Canada. "You can become desensitized to the things around you," says Alcena. "For me, photography became a means to rediscover myself and my country and to use it as a tool to hold conversations with people on a completely new level."
All pictures by Melissa Alcena