TRENITY

The following text consists of excerpts from a conversation I had with Trenity Thomas on February 3rd.
It is an outline of what life in New Orleans, Louisiana was like in 2020.
All pictures presented and discussed were shot by Trenity Thomas.

„My name is Trenity Thomas. I am 22, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States of America. I paint and I also photograph. I love movies and music.“

„I did not attend college. I tried, but couldn’t afford it.“

„I started taking pictures in 2015. My Mom got me a camera for my birthday and I never put it down ever since. It’s a part of my life now.“

„I like to connect with people. I don’t really like social media that much. I love bonding. Me and my friends are having game nights every other week. I like a human connection. It feels good.“

SECOND LINE

„Second Line is a parade. It takes place every Sunday in New Orleans. Second Line started a long  time ago to celebrate somebody’s death. We still do that now, but we use it for other things, too. For somebody’s birthday or somebody’s wedding. 

„I grew up on Second Line Parades. Coming out of church, we’d go to the Second Line. I miss it.
I miss the live music, me and other friends going out and seeing all these different communities of New Orleans come together just to dance and have fun.“

„Second Line came to a pause when the pandemic hit America. There hasn’t been one in almost a year now. I took that photo in February of 2020. Everybody was on the street dancing. The crowd was moving non stop. Trumpet players and drums. The music was going. People were dancing on the porches and on roofs.
I wish I could have fixed the settings on my camera, the photo would have come out better, but you have to be quick when taking pictures on Second Line. Everybody is constantly moving.“ 

„Life in New Orleans before the pandemic was going, really. The city is constantly changing. More people were collaborating. A lot of artists were getting together. I remember a time when everybody was saying, nobody in New Orleans wants to work with each other. But now more and more artists are coming together, helping each other out and collaborating.“

„The city is really fun. Even though there’s not that much to do. The people are fun. Everybody has a story.  Having a drink, just having fun with friends and loved ones. That’s a cool thing to do. Before the pandemic, there were festivals every month. Music festivals, festivals for food, for games. The city is festive in a way. It is also artful. The art scene in New Orleans is pretty big. It is musical, too. People from New Orleans really stick up for each other. We have each others backs.“

COWBOYS

„March to May of 2020 wasn’t easy. It was a lot of FaceTime and Zoom calls. During that time I focused more on painting. I painted cowboys. In 2019, my friend bought this cowboy hat from the thrift store. I took a picture of him with it and decided to paint it. I have been painting cowboys for like a year and a half now.“

MANY VOICES

Many Voices  was shot during a Black Lives Matter protest on Claiborne bridge.
„People were wanting the police to take a knee to show that they were with the protesters, in peace. A couple of officers did actually kneel down to show support with the protesters. So the chanting did work out. It felt surprising. It took like thirty minutes for everything to calm down and after that they had a megaphone, to tell the police how they felt and what they’ve been going through in the city.“

„All this is still new to me: going to protests. It was a learning experience. I did feel safe in a way, because we were all here for the same thing. Justice. It is kind of joyful – fighting for something.
Everybody is coming together for justice. Injustice has been ignored a lot. People are tired of it. “

„The protest was really organized. Everybody met up on Duncan Plaza. It was socially distanced. Everybody had a mask on. Everybody was talking about their experiences. Then we walked to Claiborne Bridge.
Seeing the whole city coming together to support the movement that was a good thing to see.“

THE COMPANY IS HERE

„When I was a kid, on halloween, my great grandpa, he had these jumpsuits. And for Halloween I would stuff them with newspaper and make a scarecrow in it. The picture is about couple stuck inside during lockdown. They miss company, so they make their own people to feel normal, I guess.“

„Those are my friends. They’re both models. Andre and Passion. They’re not actually a couple. They are very good models, I work with them a lot.“ 

„My friend Brandon Nguyen styled them. We’ve been friends since 6th grade. He is a stylist. He also styled the scarecrows.“

„I got an AirBnB for that day. We took pictures in the whole house. I wanted it to have an enormous feel. Just from the architecture of the house it has a southern feel to it.“ (You can see the whole series of photos on Trenity Thomas’ website.)

„To feel southern is to feel at home. Something peaceful, comfortable. You feel like you’ve completed something in a way. You just finished something, that’s tough and you got through. Something complete. If that makes sense.
Feeling southern is feeling complete, just from doing so much in the city, from late nights and running all around, from trying to find peace.“

„We are learning to live with the situation. I feel like everyone is starting to do things that they can do at home more. Art, music and food. Because a lot of places are closed music artists, they’ll have little concerts in the backyard or a chef might sell off food, like a supper, from their house. An artist might have a little virtual website to show off their art and stuff like that.“

„I used to take pictures at parties every weekend. That was how I saw all of my friends.
Now we just have game nights at our houses or we might have a picknick to get together. We play Uno, Mario on Nintendo Switch. We play card games or Jenga.“

„It was not a big change. It is noticeable though. But the bond is still there. The love is still there. It seems like everybody has something to relate to because of the pandemic.“

ZONA

„Zona is a friend of mine. I was just with him last week.“

„I took his picture in June of 2020. That was the first photoshoot I did after the lockdown.
We’ve been wanting to work together for some time and I like to shoot in neighborhoods. This was shot in the Seventh Ward. He was telling me  about this cool old car down the street. We went and checked it out. I told him to stand in the center. It came out beautiful. The pink car, the pink house, the black trash cans across the street from each other. Everything is coordinated so well.“

„Beauty means being comfortable.“

„The Seventh Ward is a popular area in the city. It’s not too far from Downtown New Orleans. A lot of big restaurants are down there that everybody goes to. A lot of popular schools are there, as well.“

Both Pictures, Zona and Second Line, were shot in the Seventh Ward.

„Zona is also a photographer. But his camera is broken right now, so he’s taking a break. He also makes t-shirts.“

„Zona is really openminded. He’s cheerful. He’s caring. He loves music. We talk about music a lot. He’s a really kind person. He’s always checking up on people.“

„The picture is taken in his neighborhood. His hometown. It’s a boy in his hometown, showing off were he’s from.“

„In New Orleans a lot of people have a hustle-mentality. Just going out and getting it yourself. Working hard pays off a lot. Getting stuff done. When I have an idea for something, I wanna get it done immediately before it drives out.“

ON FOOT

„I took that photo in September of 2020. It was for a music video for these rappers. The name of the song is „Amen“. In this scene the boys were late for church, so they were running up the street.“

„It is staged. It feels like it’s from the 70’s or something.“

„The perspective that I caught it in is a two point perspective. The wall is going inward and the boys running are coming outward.
I really love that about that photo. I try to bring people’s attention to that.“

„I remember, when I first snapped it, my friend that got me the gig was just padding me on my shoulder, saying something like „Tre, that photo is amazing.“ My nickname is Tre.“

„I was getting a lot of love on Instagram for it.  A lot of good comments. It got into the exhibit I submitted it to. The judges and the curators liked it.“

„It is special. A lot of people love that photo. I love it too. I never took a photo like that before.“

LOOKING BACK

„2020 was an awakening. It woke me up to what I can really do with myself. I figured out what I like about my photography. I bettered my craft. I figured out how to speak up for myself. Pushing myself off the edge. You only live once. Don’t be scared. You got nothing to lose. Just be free, to talk to somebody that you think may not want to be bothered. Once you do it, it was all in your head. Just do not be afraid.“