More ways of seeing (oneself)

In May 2018 I went to a reception at Johnson Fain an architecture firm on the outskirts of Chinatown in DTLA on N Broadway. I took a selfie in the installation at the entrance of their courtyard with my pals. It kicked off a ritual of taking a snap whenever I walked by, which turns out to be pretty regularly over the last 3 years. I love marching down Broadway on my #DTLAWalkabout. Often I’ll turn it into a two bridge walk, making a loop and crossing the L.A. river at Spring Street or Alameda.

The installation is clever and whimsical—I enjoy the contrast of the deep green leafy bush and the radiating orange glow of the mirrors. The pics taken on my iPhone create these trippy pixelated and atmospheric images that kind of remind me of aura photographs. Curious about the meanings of colors in auras, I did a quick web search and found orange is typically indicative of change and action—the perfect aura color for my big walks and the way my body and mind react to this healthy endeavour.

Over time I began to take the images using the camera in my IG stories, posting them as they happened and then often would delete them from my phone later. Here’s a selection of the selfies I kept for whatever reason (which I was pleased to discover), in the order taken—the last one is from yesterday.