About
It is no news that the United States discriminates against the LGBTQ community, from marriage equality, to workplace discrimination, and beyond.
*This video was created in the summer of 2011, as an initial manifesto for the project. We have since visited three cities in California, and shot over 500 additional portraits. The final goal for the project is no longer merely 4,000-5,000 faces – we guesstimate it will be closer to 8,000-10,000 portraits.
One of the core ideas behind Self Evident Truths, is that people don’t fit into over-simplified boxes. EVERYONE falls somewhere on a nuanced spectrum of human sexuality.
Struck by the powerful impact of the project, even on such a small scale, iO set her sights on taking the project national. Now, her aim is to photograph anyone in the United States that is, or EVER has been, anything other than 100% straight. The ultimate goal is between 5,000 and 10,000 portraits.
In the spring of 2011 iO shot 262 people in New York City, and by November, she shot another 527 in three parts of California, bringing our count to 789 portraits. In the winter of 2012, iO and the team took Self Evident Truths on a tour of the South, collecting faces in places like Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The Self Evident Truths portraits will be compiled into a series of large exhibitions, an online database, a book, several guerrilla art campaigns, and they will be disseminated through numerous digital outlets.
A documentary team is also creating a film about the project, the people they meet, and the issues they face in their daily lives in different parts of the country.
A completely independent art and awareness campaign, Self Evident Truths is in continuous need of funding. The more funds raised, the more portraits that can be taken, and the more places the team can visit. If you are able to make a tax deductible donation, we encourage you to do so, and are immensely grateful.
♥
This is the civil rights fight of our generation,
and together we will make our presence known.
Meet the Team
iO TILLETT WRIGHT
iO created Self Evident Truths, and she takes all the pictures. She oversees everything we all do, and makes the team strong black tea when we’re faltering.
iO Tillett Wright is an artist whose work focuses on the leading margins of contemporary life and culture. Her photography is regularly featured on two blogs at the New York Times: Notes from the Underground and The Low Down. She had her first solo show at Fuse gallery in NYC in 2010 and will exhibit her latest work at Vacant gallery in Tokyo in late 2011. She has published one limited edition book of photographs, Lose My Number, which is presently sold out. She is currently engaged in various video and photography projects, chief of which is Self Evident Truths. iO has directed several music videos, and worked as a professional film actor for 19 years, in addition to founding the world’s first nationally distributed street art magazine. iO lives and works in NYC.
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Kashi Somers
Kashi is the indispensible right hand man. She makes sure everything functions according to systematic plan, and that we don’t get arrested for anything along the way. She’s the one who makes your appointments to get shot, decides what flights we’ll take, and makes sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be, on time.
Aside from S.E.T., Kashi is a successful creative, marketing & business strategist and producer. She works with brands such a Nike, MTV, Warner and Universal Music, G-Unit, L’Oreal, Revlon, Panasonic & Levi’s. She resides in America sponsored by the Fashion & Culture press of Australia – reporting on trends & views ongoing.
Nathan Drillot
Nathan is the video arm of the Self Evident Project. A crafty, gung ho whippersnapper, Nathan will jump on a plane or a bus any time, to anywhere, and make sure we get beautiful footage of everything we do. He is also making the short films for the What’s Your Story campaign, along with his business partner, Jeff Petry.
Nathan Drillot has been making films as a director and cinematographer since 2003. He’s filmed in India, China, Central America, Europe, and extensively through out the US and Canada. He often crosses back and forth between the worlds of documentary and commercial filmmaking. His work has been seen on broadcast TV through out Europe, North America, and Asia as well as in dozens of film festival around the globe.
He is currently working on his first feature documentary in 2012 in collaboration with Jeff Petry and Salazar films; a boutique production company they co-founded with Jesse Savath in 2009.
Liz Gipson
Liz is iO and Kashi’s assistant. She holds it down with data entry, research, outreach, correspondence, and generally making sure that the wheels are greased around Self Evident headquarters. When you email us, chances are it’s Liz who will be reading it. So should you be in the habit of trying to curry favor, you could mail her some cookies or something.
Liz Gipson lives, works, and studies in New York City but hails from the DC-metro area. As a member of Barnard College’s class of 2013, she’s double majoring in Gender & Sexuality Studies and Art History with a specific interest in representations of queer female sexuality and activist art.
LA Hall
L.A. has created the website you are looking at right now. Tirelessly devoted to a cause that’s not even his own, LA creates website and graphics related miracles.
L.A. Hall is a Brooklyn-based designer currently working for Wolff Olins New York. L.A. is the former Design Director of The Work Magazine and has previously worked at Method San Francisco, London and New York. He studied graphic design at RISD.
