Pillar: No More Mud in Our Eyes (2020 - 2023)

This project focuses on a man named Aaron Garcia who has been given the nickname Pillar. Aaron got the nickname Pillar for being a beacon to many travelers, drifters, & people without houses. Particularly around the 599 / NM-14 area. Aaron has cooked for people, provided shelter for them during all forms of climate, helped some find work, and has brought relief to many. Aaron has a home and family in Kewa Pueblo, but chooses to live outside because of his experiences at Camp Tule in California where he got to live his native beliefs and traditions in a deeper way. I met Aaron one day outside of an Allsups gas station and convenience store. I sat at this particular Allsups for hours at a time, multiple days a week, and introduced myself to all the people that came by as well as the workers. I became part of the community through this gas station that is near my home, and it was Aaron who transformed me. Together, Aaron and I started making a visual record of his life and duties, also with his younger brother Russell, and other men who have wanted to participate in sharing a part of themselves without fear of shame or judgment. This work is primarily for them. I photograph with consent and one of the people who invited me in that way was Eddie Zaidi, an Iraq war veteran. He had a plan to travel up North to Colorado to reconnect with his daughter and his family, and to enter a ptsd rehab facility. I photographed him while he spoke about weapons, violence, and horoscopes. He guessed my star sign and said it was because his daughter is a Leo too. During this time, Aaron’s younger brother Russell Garcia, also left his home to come stay with Aaron. We would often walk through arroyo beds looking for certain rocks, crafting supplies, and treasures. They taught me the value of the things we would find, items which a typical person might pass up or consider junk. It's about learning to see, but not with your eyes. Russell passed away last year leaving us all in a state of recovery. To put it simply, this project is about friendship and support. Those quiet riots that happen inside us and hope will be acknowledged for our own peace. Pillar told me that he sensed my being back then when I first met him and my own desperation for spirit; my own lack of home within myself. I believe my own sense of loss, unfairness, and family struggles, has made me want to see people who have experienced profound loss, or that are going through a painful change in themselves, yet can help others through a similar darkness. -- In memory of Aaron Martin Garcia 11/22/1972 - 09/22/2023 and Russell Lawrence Garcia 06/07/1977 - 02/06/2022 The people pictured in Pillar are: Aaron & Russell Garcia, Jeoffrey Aguilar, Xavier, Kevin, and Eddie Zaidi.