It has been 128 years since the last country in the world abolished slavery and 53 years since Martin Luther King pronounced his "I Have A Dream" speech. But we still live in a world where the color of our skin not only gives a first impression, but a lasting one that remains.
Prošlo je 128 godina otkad je i poslednja država na svetu ukinula ropstvo, i prošlo je 53 godine od govora Martina Lutera Kinga „Ja imam san“. Ipak, još uvek živimo u svetu gde naša boja kože ne samo da ostavlja prvi utisak, već i onaj koji ostaje za stalno.
I was born in a family full of colors. My father is the son of a maid from whom he inherited an intense dark chocolate tone. He was adopted by those who I know as my grandparents. The matriarch, my grandma, has a porcelain skin and cotton-like hair. My grandpa was somewhere between a vanilla and strawberry yogurt tone, like my uncle and my cousin. My mother is a cinnamon-skin daughter of a native Brazilian, with a pinch of hazel and honey, and a man [who is] a mix of coffee with milk, but with a lot of coffee. She has two sisters. One in a toasted-peanut skin and the other, also adopted, more on the beige side, like a pancake.
Rođena sam u porodici sa mnogo boja. Moj otac je sin služavke od koje je nasledio jako tamnu nijansu čokolade. Usvojili su ga ljudi koje poznajem kao baku i dedu. Baka, glava porodice, ima kožu kao porcelan i kosu kao pamuk. Deda je imao nijansu između vanile i jogurta od jagode, istu kao i moj ujak i rođak. Moja majka, kože boje cimeta, je ćerka rođene Brazilke sa mrvicom nijanse lešnika i meda, i čoveka boje mešavine kafe sa mlekom, ali sa mnogo kafe. Ona ima dve sestre. Jedna je kao prepečen kikiriki, a druga, takođe usvojena, više je bež, kao palačinka.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Growing up in this family, color was never important for me. Outside home, however, things were different soon. Color had many other meanings.
Odrastajući u ovoj porodici, boja mi nikad nije bila važna. Van kuće, međutim, stvari su uskoro postale drugačije. Boja je imala mnoga druga značenja.
I remember my first drawing lessons in school as a bunch of contradictory feelings. It was exciting and creative but I never understood the unique flesh-colored pencil. I was made of flesh but I wasn't pink. My skin was brown, and people said I was black. I was seven years old with a mess of colors in my head.
Moje sećanje na prvi čas crtanja u školi predstavlja hrpu protivrečnih osećanja. Bio je uzbudljiv i kreativan, ali nikada nisam razumela jedinstvenu olovku za boju kože. I ja sam od mesa, a nisam roze. Imam braon kožu za koju se kaže da je crna. Sa sedam godina sam imala haos u glavi zbog boja.
Later, when I took my cousin to school, I was usually taken for the nanny. By helping in the kitchen at a friend's party, people thought I was the maid. I was even treated like a prostitute just because I was walking alone on the beach with European friends. And many times, visiting my grandma or friends in upper class buildings, I was invited not to use the main elevator. Because in the end, with this color and this hair, I cannot belong to some places.
Kasnije, kada sam vodila rođaka u školu, mislili su da sam dadilja. Kada sam kod prijatelja na zabavi pomagala u kuhinji, mislili su da sam služavka. Čak su me smatrali prostitutkom samo zato što sam se šetala na plaži sa prijateljima iz Evrope. Često kad sam odlazila u posetu baki ili prijateljima u zgradi više klase, zatražili su od mene da ne koristim glavni lift jer, naposletku, sa ovim tenom i ovom kosom ne mogu pripadati određenim mestima.
In some way, I get to used to it and accept part of it. However, something inside of me keeps revolving and struggling.
Nekako sam se navikla na to i delimično prihvatila. Ipak, u meni je nešto igralo i borilo se.
Years later I married a Spaniard. But not any Spaniard. I chose one with the skin color of a lobster when sunburnt.
Godinama kasnije udala sam se za Španca, ali ne bilo kog. Birala sam onog kojem je koža boje izgorelog jastoga.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
Since then, a new question started to chase me. What will be the color of your children? As you can understand, this is my last concern. But thinking about it, with my previous background, my story led me to make my personal exercise as a photographer. And that is how Humanae was born.
Od tada me proganja drugo pitanje. Kakvu će boju imati deca? Shvatate, to me je najmanje brinulo. Međutim, dok sam razmišljala o tome, uz moje prethodno iskustvo, priča me je usmerila na to da se lično ostvarim kao fotograf. Tako je nastao projekat Humanae.
Humanae is a pursuit to highlight our true colors, rather than the untrue white, red, black or yellow associated with race. It's a kind of game to question our codes. It's a work in progress from a personal story to a global history.
Humanae je težnja da se istaknu naše prave boje, umesto lažne bele, crvene, crne ili žute koje asociraju na rasu. To je vrsta igre, da se preispitaju naši kodovi. Projekat je u toku, od lične priče do globalne istorije.
I portray the subjects in a white background. Then I choose an 11-pixel square from the nose, paint the background, and look for the corresponding color in the industrial palette, Pantone.
Portrete subjekata radim na beloj pozadini. Zatim uzmem kvadratić od 11 piksela sa nosa, obojim pozadinu, i tražim odgovarajuću boju sa industrijske palete Panton.
I started with my family and friends, then more and more people joined the adventure, thanks to public calls coming through the social media.
Počela sam sa porodicom i prijateljima, zatim se sve više ljudi priključilo avanturi, zahvaljujući javnim pozivima sa društvenih medija.
I thought that the main space to show my work was the Internet because I want an open concept that invites everybody to push the share button in both the computer and their brain.
Mislila sam da je internet glavno mesto da pokažem svoj rad, jer otvoreno želim pozvati svakoga da pritisne opciju za deljenje, kako na računaru, tako i u glavi.
The snowball started to roll. The project had a great welcome -- invitations, exhibitions, physical formats, galleries and museums ... just happened. And among them, my favorite: when Humanae occupies public spaces and appears in the street, it fosters a popular debate and creates a feeling of community.
Grudva je počela da se kotrlja. Projekat je srdačno primljen - pozivi, izložbe, fizički formati, galerije, muzeji - prosto su se desili. Među njima, ono što je meni omiljeno: kada je Humanae na javnom prostoru, kada se pojavi na ulici, podstiče diskusije među ljudima i stvara osećaj zajedništva.
I have portrayed more than 3,000 people in 13 different countries, 19 different cities around the world. Just to mention some of them -- from someone included in the Forbes list, to refugees who crossed the Mediterranean by boat. In Paris, from the UNESCO Headquarters to a shelter. And students both in Switzerland and favelas in Rio de Janeiro.
Slikala sam više od 3 000 ljudi iz 13 različitih zemalja, iz 19 različitih gradova širom sveta, pomenuću samo neke - od nekoga sa Forbsove liste do izbeglica koje su čamcem prešle Sredozemno more. U Parizu, od sedišta UNESKA, do skloništa. Studente u Švajcarskoj, kao i u favelama u Rio de Žaneiru.
All kinds of beliefs, gender identities or physical impairments, a newborn or terminally ill. We all together build Humanae.
Ljude svih vera, rodnog identiteta, telesnih nedostataka, novorođene ili smrtno bolesne. Svi zajedno gradimo Humanae.
Those portraits make us rethink how we see each other. When modern science is questioning the race concept, what does it mean for us to be black, white, yellow, red? Is it the eye, the nose, the mouth, the hair? Or does it have to do with our origin, nationality or bank account?
Ti portreti nas navode da razmislimo kako vidimo jedni druge. Kada savremena nauka preispituje pojam rase, šta nam onda znači biti crn, beo, žut ili crven? Da li se to tiče očiju, nosa, usta, kose? Ili to ima veze sa našim poreklom, nacionalnošću ili bankovnim računom?
This personal exercise turned out to be a discovery. Suddenly I realized that Humanae was useful for many people. It represents a sort of mirror for those who cannot find themselves reflected in any label.
Ova lična akcija se pretvorila u otkriće. Odjednom sam shvatila da je Humanae koristan za mnoge ljude. Predstavlja vrstu ogledala za one koji se ne mogu pronaći u bilo kakvoj klasifikaciji.
It was amazing that people started to share their thoughts about the work with me. I have hundreds of that, I will share with you, too.
Neverovatno je da su ljudi počeli da sa mnom dele svoja mišljenja o radu. Imam ih stotine, a podeliću ih i sa vama.
A mother of 11 years -- A mother of an 11-year-old girl wrote me, "Very good for me as a tool to work on her confidence, as this past weekend one of her girlfriends argued with her that she does not belong and should not be allowed to live in Norway. So your work has a very special place in my heart and it's very important for me."
Pisala mi je majka jedne devojčice od 11 godina: „Ovo će mi poslužiti da radim na njenom samopouzdanju, jer je prošlog vikenda njena drugarica tvrdila da ona ne pripada tu i da joj ne treba dozvoliti da živi u Norveškoj. Vaš rad zauzima posebno mesto u mom srcu i veoma mi je važan.“
A woman shared her portrait on Facebook and wrote, "All my life, people from across the globe had difficulties to place me in a group, a stereotype, a box. Perhaps we should stop. Instead of framing, ask the individual, 'How would you label yourself?' Then I would say, 'Hi. I'm Massiel. I'm a Dominican-Dutch, I grew up in a mixed family and I'm a bisexual woman.' "
Jedna žena je podelila svoj portret na Fejsbuku i napisala: „Tokom celog mog života, ljudi sa svih strana sveta nisu mogli da me smeste u neku grupu, u stereotip, u kutiju. Možda treba da zastanemo. Umesto stavljanja u okvir, upitajte osobu: 'Kako biste sebe obeležili?' Tada bih rekla: 'Zdravo. Ja sam Masijel, dominikanskog i holandskog porekla, odrasla u mešovitoj porodici, biseksualna.'“
Besides these unexpected and touching reactions, Humanae finds a new life in a different variety of fields. Just to show you some examples, illustrators and art students using it as a reference for their sketches and their studies. It's a collection of faces.
Osim ovih neočekivanih i dirljivih reakcija, Humanae pronalazi nov život na raznim poljima. Pokazaću neke primere: Ilustratori i studenti umetnosti ga koriste kao referencu za crteže i proučavanja. To je zbirka lica.
Researchers in the fields of anthropology, physics and neuroscience use Humanae with different scientific approaches related to human ethnicity, optophysiology, face recognition or Alzheimer's.
Istraživači na polju antropologije, fizike i neuronauka koriste Humanae uz različite naučne pristupe koji se odnose na etničku pripadnost, optofiziologiju, prepoznavanje lica, ili Alchajmerove bolesti.
One of the most important impacts of the project is that Humanae was chosen to be the cover of Foreign Affairs, one of the most relevant political publications. And talking about foreign affairs, I found the perfect ambassadors for my project ... teachers. They are the ones that use Humanae as a tool for educational purposes. Their passion encourages me to go back to drawing classes, but this time as a teacher myself.
Jedan od najvažnijih uticaja ovog projekta je to da je Humanae odabran za naslovnicu časopisa „Spoljni poslovi“, jednu od najuticajnijih političkih publikacija. Kad smo već kod spoljnih poslova, otkrila sam savršene izaslanike za moj projekat - učitelje. Oni koriste Humanae kao obrazovno sredstvo. Njihova strast me ohrabruje da se vratim časovima crtanja, ali sad u ulozi nastavnika.
My students, both adults and kids, paint their self-portraits, trying to discover their own unique color.
Moji učenici, kako odrasli tako i deca, slikaju autoportrete, pokušavajući da otkriju svoju jedinstvenu boju.
As a photographer, I realize that I can be a channel for others to communicate. As an individual, as Angélica, every time I take a picture, I feel that I am sitting in front of a therapist. All the frustration, fear and loneliness that I once felt ... becomes love.
Kao fotograf, shvatam svoju ulogu prenosioca komunikacije. Kao pojedinac, kao Anđelika, kad god uslikam fotografiju, imam osećaj da sedim ispred terapeuta. Frustracija, strah, samoća, sve što sam nekad osećala postaje ljubav.
The last country -- the last country in the world who abolished slavery is the country where I was born, Brazil. We still have to work hard to abolish discrimination. That remains a common practice worldwide, and that will not disappear by itself.
Poslednja zemlja, poslednja koja je ukinula ropstvo, je zemlja gde sam se rodila, Brazil. I dalje moramo marljivo raditi da bismo ukinuli diskriminaciju. To je uobičajena praksa širom sveta i neće nestati sama od sebe.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Thank you.
Hvala.