Awakening

This is by far the most important project I have ever worked on. Our model not only represents our native people that we have taken advantage of. She also represents us as a whole, not to mention our planet. We have an extreme addiction to fossil fuels that has to stop and we have the power to start changing that.

The black latex represents oil and how it is a pollutant. It clings to her body and is uncomfortable to pull from her skin. With that said it had to go. it took some work but we got it all off and got her clean. The metaphor isn't only in the photo but in the actuality of the clean up. Freeing ourselves of fossil fuel dependency will be hard but the sooner we start the better.

We are building long lasting infrastructure for a fuel source we need to start phasing out. We should be focused on improving other sources. The technology to be less oil dependent is there and it will get better. Our Native American's joining together at Standing Rock to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline I hope was a wake up call for all of is. The fire has been set, It's up to us here and now.

For 500 years my people have been suffering. Everything was taken from us to build this country, our ancestors lives, our languages, our dignity and our traditions. Our tribes were torn apart and everything we loved was ripped from our arms. For the past 500 years we have been rebuilding, re learning our languages, bringing back our traditions, and ridding our lives of the european influence of drugs, alcohol and segregation constantly hindering our people. And finally, in 2016 we are together again, thousands of indiginious people from tribes all over the United States are coming to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, in North Dakota, to fight a pipeline that is threatening the lives of our grandchildren and destroying our mothers natural recourses. For the first time in 500 years we are back together again, we are building teepees together, singing traditional songs together, praying together and taking back the sacred that was stolen from us so long ago. After this war is over we will forever be changed, we will be stronger than we have ever been, we will be together forever. -Gabrielle Colton Photographer | Gabrielle Colton Makeup | Matt Goodlett Hair | Matthew Tyldesley Model | Stephanie Johnson Music: Forever You Said by Peter Gundry

"Hold on to what you must do, even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to my land even if I've gone away from you.

Not only was this photo shoot long, exhausting and emotionally painful for me, it was also physically painful for Stephanie (our model).

I took this photo at the very end of the shoot as she was pulling the black latex, representing the oil that is killing us, from her body.

Going into this shoot, I did not know the latex would hurt her as we took it off, this pain brought the perfect photos to my lens. Stephanie's strength to continue modeling as she tore the latex from her skin led to us being able show the pain of Native people perfectly.

Thank you all for passing your strength to me, to the water protectors and to all people. May we rise in strength through this war, in our old ways, protecting our mother forever." -Gabrielle Colton

Prints available at: https://www.gabriellecolton.com/nodapl/

Proceeds will go to Red Road Awareness in support of the Dakota Access Pipeline Resistance

Photo: Gabrielle Colton
Model: Stephanie Lynn Johnson
Makeup: Matt Goodlett, Matt Goodlett, MUA
Hair: Matthew Tyldesley
BTS: Blake McGrew, Dark Heart Creative
Makeup Assistant: Portia Greene