Face to Face: When a Photograph Becomes a Two-Way Portrait
Finalist, Monochromatic Awards 2025 by Dodho Magazine
Face to Face, a portrait from my UnLabel Poverty installation, has been recognized as a finalist in the Monochromatic Awards 2025 by Dodho Magazine — one of just 100 images chosen for the Monochromatic Book.
A young woman stands before Cleveland’s portrait, their eyes locked in quiet exchange.
Face to Face is a photograph I created as part of UnLabel Poverty, a three-day community event designed to elevate the work of Asheville Poverty Initiative (API) and deepen public understanding of homelessness and poverty in our city.
I had the honor of spending time with Cleveland, the man in the photograph, and learning about the challenges of being labeled a criminal — and the difficulty of finding employment with that label shadowing him. This portrait was made with his consent, his approval, and his agency over the words that accompanied it.
The Installation
The intention was to create a space where each person could show up authentically — and be reflected back with honesty and care. The 30"x45" scale, the simple black backdrop, and the two-sided format — pairing societal labels with personal truths — were deliberate choices.
One side carried a societal label like “Criminal,” “Addict,” or “Homeless.” The other revealed the person’s own words — their truth, their name, their self-definition.
The aim was to disrupt how we see and unsee one another, to reflect a simple belief: people who are often overlooked deserve to be impossible to ignore. Those pushed to the margins belong at the center — unmissable, undeniable, honored in their full humanity.
The Photograph
In Face to Face, Cleveland and the woman standing before his portrait are both subjects. He, rendered in stark monochrome, meets her eyes through the photograph. She, unaware of the camera behind her, becomes part of the scene — making the encounter a two-way portrait.
It’s the kind of meeting that might never happen in daily life. But here, in this moment, both are fully present. Both are seen.
Recognition
I’m honored that Face to Face has been named a finalist in the Monochromatic Awards 2025 by Dodho Magazine — one of just 100 images selected for publication in the upcoming Monochromatic Book.
