The Hispanic Project (6) 1998

Nikki S. Lee made this photograph, part of "The Hispanic Project (6)", without a specific date. It’s a moment captured, raw and immediate, with a sense of lived experience. What hits you first is the artificial light and the unglamorous setting. In the foreground, a woman applies lipstick, her concentration total. The texture of the image isn’t about smoothness; it's got grain and a kind of documentary feel, like a snapshot from a night out. The surface is reflective, from the sheen of the lipstick to the mirrored wall, creating layers of image within image. You can almost smell the hairspray and feel the anticipation. Lee's work often explores identity through immersion, reminding me of Cindy Sherman’s shape-shifting. But while Sherman uses costume and artifice to create distance, Lee seems to dissolve into her chosen communities, blurring the lines between performance and reality. Art is about that ambiguity, right? It's not about finding the 'right' answer but embracing all the possibilities.