Alek Wek in ‘Novo Glam’ by Luigi Iango for Vogue Brazil March 2020

The Furrow of Her Brow… The Ache In Her Eyes… To Speak the Truth We Now Realize. We Are Not Immune, Protected, Shielded or Shamed… We’re Not Special We’re All One In the Same! Alek Wek speaks to strength without a word leaving her lips in ‘Novo Glam’ by Luigi & Iango for Vogue Brazil, 03/2020. Her beautiful brown eyes stare us down. Behind a net veil Alek evokes a sense of sadness backed by strength. That’s the message here, artfully evoked. Echoing the Words of Maya Angelou… Phenomenal Woman… That’s Me!

Secrets are Held Like a Void in the Wall Where Silence Lives Truth Doth Fall. Her Eyes are Hidden Masqued from Pain, a Truthful Tale Told In Vain. These Truths Once Hidden are Yours with a Song. Facts We Can’t Face are the Right to What’s Wrong. So Hide Your Eyes from Words that Fall, Like Leaves from a Tree, Like Dust From the Stars. We Travel this Road Walking Alone, a Silent Path Where Few Do Roam. Long & Winding it Forever Begins with the Knowledge that Tells Us Fear isn’t Our Friend. We’re Not Shooting to Start or Aiming to End… We are Hunkering Down for a Battle WE CAN WIN! So Take this Turn and You Will See the Truth of all Humanity.

We are captivated by her mesmerizing presence. The Curves of Her Body Aren’t Hidden in Shame as Beauty Falls Down, Pouring Like Rain. The Eyes of My Sight Seeks the Soul of Delight. Her Skin is of Silk Shining Ever Bright, Burning In the Sky Lighting Up the Night. Stylist, Pedro Sales, raises the bar inviting the high fashion mind to wander. True art is captivating. Watching this story unfold I’m arrested by the subtly of sheer strength. Alek stares with a calmness that reads like Poetry. The camera moves over ever inch of the body from her face to her feet. There’s a palpable vigor released with every shot.

Not all photographers have the ability to drive a stark shoot toward this kind of intellectual, editorial end. To draw you in to an image, with no backdrop and a singular, color chasm, is remarkable. Sales found pieces that project differing shades of black, while offering up phenomenal fabrics. We need to start thinking about our current situation as one we are proud to step up an serve. Humanity Calls. We can all shift and be ready to share our strengths. All Together Now… WE CAN SHIFT OUR CURRENT STANDING AND BE READY TO SHARE OUR STRENGTHS. This isn’t about putting a pretty bow on an disastrous situation. We all know the reality. This is about how we project power forward. Bravery Echoes Off the Walls as Inside Something Calls. Symbolizing Strength in the Face of Global Fear.

Standing in Silence, Her Spirit Speaks…

I Am Spirit

I Am Grace

I Am One

With Time/Space

I Hold My Hands

Up To My Face

Truth Transforms

In Power and Place

We Are Not Alone

In This Ever Long Fight

We Are Fearless Together

With All of Our Might

So, Take this Turn

And You Will See

The Truth Of All…

HUMANITY

Together United

Forever in Peace

Standing As One

We Find What We Seek

poetic prose – tanyajo