sara gómez photographY
Having lived and worked in various countries including India, Brazil, Nicaragua and Madagascar, I have always been struck by two basic things: the similarities we share as humans and the inequities that exist between us.
A main goal of my work has always been to bring the viewer closer to the people in the photographs. In telling (and showing) their stories I hope to challenge viewers to see them, not as different or exotic, rich or poor, but simply as the human beings that they are: mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and integral members of their communities.
It has been said that atrocities can only be committed when a person sees another, or a group of people as ‘other’. It is when we stop seeing people as ‘other’ that change can occur.
I have a Master in Public Health and have worked with organizations such as Ipas, Planned Parenthood, and the Self Employed Women’s Association. My most recent work has focused on reproductive health issues including human rights fact-finding work in Nicaragua to document the impact of the complete abortion ban on women’s health.
ABOUT
All images and text © 2008 Sara Gómez Photography
“Sara Gómez’s photographs and writings about SEWA place her at the heart of the documentary tradition. She has immersed herself in the lives of her subjects, spending almost a year working on a project, trying to get close to the perspective she portrays. Sara has focused narrowly in order to attain the greatest depth. This is perhaps most evident in the way the children and teachers in Sara’s photographs do not appear to notice her. They go about their lives unselfconsciously in front of her lens. One can imagine the time and patience it took to gain the trust implicit in her absence. Sara works in the long form, knowing that a series of quiet pictures can have real and lasting impact. And like many other documentary photographers, Sara is drawn to those on the margins of society. She works to celebrate aspects of a culture and community that deserve to be more widely known. At the same time she records conditions that should be changed but might otherwise be ignored.”
-Alex Harris, Documentary photographer
and Professor at Duke University