COEXISTENCE
My name is JC Candanedo and I am a London-based Visual Artist. This is my fashion photography story called Coexistence which depicts a clash between cultures. The case for coexistence starts with inclusion. Acknowledging our differences, but making the effort to find the commonalities that will bring us together as a community.
The inspiration behind the shoot came from the question: how can we exist in harmony despite our different ideologies? I shot this fashion editorial at the end of 2015, a year that felt to me like the beginning of the wave of extremism that we have been living over the past few years.
In 2015, Daesh radicalisation cost the lives of so many. The attacks towards Turkish people in Ankara, French people with both Charlie Hebdo and the Paris attacks, and people in the US with the Charleston church and the San Bernardino shootings. Freddie Gray was killed in Baltimore and the case against his killers concluded with zero convictions against officers. As if that weren’t enough, Trump entered the race for president of the US. To top it all, the refugee crisis of people fleeing Syria sparks new waves of xenophobia that resulted in the success of movements in Europe like the Brexit campaign.
The series was created in collaboration with stylist Roberta Bitto, Makeup Artist Pascale Maestri and Hair Stylist Rachel Williamson. The models are Ambrella Socquard and Amy De Robillard from First Model Management.
The work was featured on:
The cover of C-Femme Magazine