Queer Crew: A Photo Series by Rob Woodcox

 
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About the artist: Rob Woodcox is a fine art and fashion photographer currently living between Mexico and the US. As he creates each artwork, Rob strives to capture fragments of a vivid life sewn by the threads of reality, memory and dream.  Each concept is a declaration of his experience and seeks to tell a meaningful story to each individual that views it.

Rob's passion for photography has developed into a dedication to advocacy and making strained voices heard. Rob has produced projects raising consciousness and conversation around the US foster system and adoption, queer identity, body neutrality, racial equality and environmental justice.  Having been adopted as a child and interacting often with the foster care system, Rob creates from a unique perspective, finding hope in human connection and the will to overcome negative constructs within our complex societies. 

In 2013 Rob went through his own "coming out" experience, a societal passage only necessary from the lack of education and acceptance within the greater population. Though a challenging and demanding experience, Rob used this energy to pursue his photographic goals full time and began touring the world teaching workshops and creating sponsored content. Rob has taught thousands of students in 6 continents, 15 countries and 34 cities worldwide. He has been featured in various major publications, gallery exhibits and has produced commercial work for clients like Universal Pictures and Capitol Records. In 2020 Rob released his first photographic art book “Bodies Of Light”. He continues to embark upon new personal and business creative endeavors.

When he is not creating photographs, Rob mentors artists, travels, cooks, backpacks and gets lost on whichever adventures present themselves.

Read below for an accompanying article by Alejandro Perez Montes

Identity and Consumerism in Mexico

Words by Alejandro Perez Montes

Let's talk about the autonomous activity that we all exercise daily and that many perform unconsciously: dressing. In his text “Fashion, Identity and Social Change", the Venezuelan sociologist Julio Salazar mentions that the individual is no longer free to express themself through clothing. This, in large part, is due to large chains of fast fashion and accessibility to unique clothing. With the advancement of information and communication technology consumers have evolved, allowing the possibility to buy almost any product from home and explore current events and trends in other places on the planet.

Currently, the highest percentage of the world population is under 25 years of age. Young people are the eyes of fashion and spend more and more to achieve the aesthetic imagery created by influencers, fanzines and magazines of great power in the industry. Fast fashion has had to adapt to these changes, producing more than two collections a year, which dominate the best catwalks that take place in fashion weeks.

From Celine and Hood By Air to Pull & Bear and Bershka, these brands dress us and represent us generationally. The question is, do we lack our own cultural identities, in my case, a Mexican identity? The crucial thing is to understand that there is a loss of Mexican visual discourse capable of creating relevant changes, true amongst many cultures. In a talk at the University of Tijuana, Gustavo Prado commented that, instead of creating clothing brands, Mexico's creatives must focus their efforts on founding fashion companies capable of generating labor and livelihood for the country. I imagine this could be applied in countries around the world.

The current power lies in the youth. It is not a coincidence that political campaigns are directed at younger generations, despite the fact that the majority of the candidates are over fifty years old. Younger generations are more inclusive; they are pushing fashion towards new horizons and producing young designers who integrate their ideas in the street, far from fashion weeks where clothes are made for people in places of privilege. This youth is offering fresh ideas, valuable contributions to build a new Mexican identity, distant from traditional and folk textiles. Perhaps, this creative surge is what we need to consolidate our cultural identity to Mexico. A Mexico brimming with collaboration and community, where three out of five or more purchases are Mexican. In order to grow as a country, collective support, development and innovation is necessary.

"Fashion must take us to a place where we have never been." -Diane Pernet

PhotographyKate Zaliznock