Hi there,
My name is Eva Bouchard. I am a amateur photographer located in Central New York, some of my work has been featured on Instagram of Syracuse.com, I Love NY and New York Upstate. I tend to specialize in abstract photography involving nature but I do share a huge passion for capturing social inequality. I began “Looking Through The Lens of Social Inequality” during my senior year at Elmira College in the fall of 2014. This independent study had a tremendous impact on my self-identity, this is why I later took on the name of IndependentlyEva for most of my work. Below you will read about that experience and about one other protest, as well as some new things that I have been working on.
A Synopsis of One Protest
In the summer of 2014, I went to a small protest…A protest, which brought different sides of people…sides of people with different ideals, concepts, religion, age, race, class, and gender.
Now I had no idea that this protest was going on. I just happened to drive past it…pull over and then joined it. This protest, wasn’t just a protest…. this protest changed my life.
Now I mentioned that this protest attracted two different sides of people.
I discovered, a place was being considered to house Central American children at the former Maria Regina College.
This proposal sparked an intense debate within the city that pulled in a multitude of people who opposed or supported this cause.
Can you guess which side I was on?
Not only did the protest cause a stir within my tiny city…but this was also a huge debate throughout the US, which became really intense/heated…but then slowed down…and became less of a huge debate as other situations and debates claimed the spotlight in our “Media”.
This protest was five years ago…
How can anyone here be against this idea? These children need our help and we have a chance to be able to provide them a safe haven until they eventually leave. Which was only for 90 days. The refugees were not going to come here permanently. These refugees were CHILD refugees and just need one place. Just one place to go but it did not happen.
This city never became a place for these children to escape their unimaginable harsh reality…
Now I believe the former Maria Regina College is supposed to become a housing complex turned into apartments…or so I think, all I know right now is that this property is vacant. It is nothing, nothing at all. What it once was…[2019 update, this place is still empty leaves me with a haunting feeling].
Ominous Change in Political Climate
Fast forward to 2016.and the beginning of 2017…
I’m in complete shock. I cannot and will not respect anyone who demonstrates aggressive authoritarian and ethnocentric behavior.
What started as an independent study for my photography course at EC…became my life. Just one protest I went to changed my life, changed the way I thought, wrote, acted and felt..made me a stronger person who wanted to continue going to protests that put my safety in danger..and taking any other opportunities for fieldwork. And since then, I’ve gone to even more and I will continue to do so, and I will continue to write and share and express how I feel. Because just maybe one day, someone will see it, will connect to it, and will feel the same way as I did when collecting powerful images through the lens of my camera.
And to those of you, who think that protests are: “Stupid, senseless, a waste of complete time”…. here’s a thought. Why don’t you go to a protest that represents the complete opposite of you..and your personal beliefs. Why don’t you?…no? I CHALLENGE YOU…Go to one, not to argue, not to start a fight…but to go to one and listen. Listen to the people, connect and keep and open mind..maybe just maybe then your opinion or viewpoints will change. You never know what will happen if you go to one protest…but sometimes going to just one protest. No matter how small can help you find your individual voice that resonates within you.
2019 and All of it’s Glory.
It has been a long time since I wrote or created anything since the Trump rally/protest in 2016. Disbelieve and shock with have that effect on you. Although I experienced an incredibly uncomfortable protest, one that completely broke my heart…I still continued to show my support to some events. When you spend a great amount of time looking through a camera lens…looking at the faces of hatred. Those emotions that you take in and photograph will always stay with you forever. Capturing hate, is very powerful and strong work, but only if you know how to do it in a way without jeopardizing your mental health.
Within 2016-2017 I also finished completing a year of AmeriCorps, working with The American Red Cross CNY Regional Chapter. Instead of capturing examples of social inequality independently, I was able to take time to put my camera down to help and to listen to individuals who struggle living the disadvantages of being in social inequality circumstances. I could write forever about all the experiences I had working them but the main message about that, is how much I was able to grow from it. I experienced personal growth, and that growth reopened my heart and compassion that we absolutely need to help individuals during this chaotic and terrible political sphere. This work, this page, has never been about me, but about how these experiences have shaped and allowed me to share and evolve what I see.
Continuing on to the current, activism experience. On July 7th, 2019 the Women’s National Soccer Team one their 4th World Cup. Defeating Netherlands by 2-0, but this victory did not come easy. I absolutely support Megan a Rapinoe on the field and off the field…because the dialogue that she’s trying to raise, is so very crucial to our political climate and beliefs.
No matter where or who we are on this planet. We are not going to be able to mutually agree. History has proven this over and over again. For the U.S. right now the movement and multiple discussions that we are trying to maintain..is in regards to how our society fails systemically. There are so many conflicts and important issues going on. We can’t focus on one thing without impacting the other. Cause and effect.
In 2012 I created an activism page called, “Air U.S. Women’s Soccer on TV”. It’s most likely all in caps lock, because let’s be real, I got angry because I was able to find the majority of their games and had no idea how to stream them. This page started off very small and then grew over time; currently this page has 3,600 members and counting.
When you have an idea and it starts to grow, and you use a platform like this; You are given a lot of responsibility to voice opinions no matter what the discussion is. I’ve had this discussion with a lot of people who say they couldn’t accomplish this. But I can, and I will, and there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from doing so. I’ve been managing things like this and other blogs a lot longer than most people. This is what I do, who I am, how I connect with people and bring that connectedness back to others. I can take the disagreements, the name-calling, and the people who are trying to devalue my validation for this work.
I cannot speak for all marginalized groups in our society. However, I can continue to share and support their voices collectively, through the use of activism. I try to be the best Ally I can be, though I am still learning how I can be more supportive for everyone. As a trained Anthropologist and Sociologist, I will continue standing up to what I believe in, continue to learn, continue to love one another despite of our differences in opinions and values. At the end of the day, we are all just people, trying to do and make things better without realizing all the inner structuralism behind it.
Looking Through The Lens Of Social Inequality 