HAASMEEN

My love for photography began in high school when a teacher handed me an old point and shoot camera with duct tape covering the flash. One of the first personal projects I worked on was in August of 2021. I drove to Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians’ tribal land. The tribe had been facing racist backlash in response to their right to reclaim 1,400 acres of their ancestral land. This sparked interest in our connection to land as people. The presence of White Supremacy in this concept of land ownership within the United States. And the stories that every parcel of land holds — stories that cannot be colonized.

For about two years now, I have been researching and documenting my lineage and ancestral relationships to the Scottish Highlands from my paternal side. This has been an ongoing project uncovering colonization, the genocide of highland culture, folk magic, and the world of the sidhe -- the spirit world. Photography has been a pathway to ancestral veneration and self exploration - my connection to the land and ancient ancestors. It’s also been a journey that has asked me to face the genociders and upholders of oppression that exist within my bloodline.

I approach art and photography through a decolonial storytelling lens that asks us to really contend with the great privileges and obscenities we’ve seen enacted throughout history and around the world. I explore people’s stories and memories and document the living beings and the spirits of the land. I uncover the untold, hidden history of places. These are not just photos. They are stories that need to be told and art provides us the avenue to hear, feel, and see those stories.

Throughout my website, I share stories of loss, hope, love, and rediscovery that center the Black, Indigenous, Queer, Trans, and POC experience. You can view my art under The Land and The People.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and be with my art.

In gratitude,

Jazmin (pronounced Haas-meen)