Shawn Robinson – The Light Through Which We All Glow
“In the USA one person in 17,000 is affected with some type of albinism, a genetic condition in which one has little or no pigment in their eyes, skin or hair. Despite having spent the better half of my life living in major metropolises (New York and Los Angeles), I had never knowingly met someone with albinism until just last year when I met a 2 year old girl named Coco. I first met Coco while photographing her for a project relating to mixed races, I became deeply affected at how the light interacted with her skin, it was almost as if she was the source of the light. After this encounter many questions began to arise about albinism, I wanted to find out more.
Through an ongoing series of portraits I am investigating what it means to have albinism. As a visual artist, I can’t help but be drawn to this uniqueness and beauty. We live in a society where people spend untold sums of money to look the same, cosmetic surgery is booming, yet the people I photograph can not change who they are. I ponder upon what is it to be unique and how that fits into the world today and what it might mean 10 years from now. With each new portrait I make, new curiosities and questions come to the surface begging me to dive even deeper. I hope these images serve as a reminder to the beauty that comes with being unique, which is something we all possess.
I know one of the girls and I think she is beautiful physically and internally! She is an amazing singer, friend, co worker, daughter, wife, teacher, and will be an amazing mommy.
That’s wonderful, Rocio, thank you for sharing this. How did you find my website?
Beautiful pics, I can see myself in these pictures.
My wife has albinism. She’s the best person I know.