Starting out as a young photographer today isn’t easy. With the overexposure of images in an endless feed of unifying aesthetics, it can be harder than ever to find your own voice. Not for Karla Hiraldo Voleau. At just 26-years-old, she already has plenty of accolades, including several group exhibitions in Paris, Lausanne, and Amsterdam. Her work has been published in It’s Nice That and The Plantation Journal.
Mostly known for her images of male beauty, Voleau flips the lens on herself for this editorial, exclusive to COOLS. The below photo story explores notions of youth, identity, authorship, and breathes new life into the exhausted selfie. Accompanying the series is an introspective poem that takes you further into coming-of-age questions we can all relate to.
Dear me in five years,
How are you?
How is your sleep? Did you get rid of your dark circles or are dark circles part of us?
Dear me in five years,
Do you remember that time off, in Greece? It’s where I am now.
Do you remember the early mornings, walking the dogs out, in the mountains, over the sea, and sitting down in between the two hills that were perfectly symmetrical?
Do you remember the sound of the hundreds of little bells attached to the hundreds of little goats?
They formed a continuous crystal sound, echoing from mountain to mountain.
Dear me in five years,
Do you remember digging holes, carrying buckets of soil, chopped wood, weeding by hand entire gardens? How your hands got sore, hard, bigger, rougher by the day?
Do you remember how broken your back was? Do you remember how clear your mind was?
Dear me in five years,
Do you take the time to shut down your phone for a while?
Do you look at your food when you eat, instead of a screen, or did you forget everything already?
Are you still concerned with your body image?
Do you still create images of your body?
Dear me in five years,
Has the world changed at all? Who rules, who rules you? Don’t be ruled.
Who is the president of the world? There’s always one.
Who is at war, are you at war?
In five years, you will be 31.
Are you a mother?
Dear me in five years,
How do you feel about your first loves? Are they fathers? They must be.
Did you get married on an impulse? I bet you got married with the first soul that said your belly was the most beautiful belly in the world. You got married at your childhood beach, with father but no mother. You got divorced a few months after. Am I right?
Dear me in five years,
Do you have fun?
Do you have fun with yourself?
Look at those images, where I was just having fun, tangled in the shutter release of my camera. Where I was alone, with my body and mind. Literally alone, but not once lonely.
Remember taking time for yourself. Remember looking for nature. Remember reading when you
can. Never apologize but you know, actually apologize when you are being a stubborn and arrogant. Be kind. Be kind to your mom. No one is eternal.
Remember eating in the sun when the sun is out. Remember taking deep breaths and big steps.
Don’t look at your feet when you walk, it’ll give you back pain. Show your teeth when you laugh.
Dear me in five years,
Is the world different? I bet it is, you just don’t realize it yet.