Sunday, November 18, 2012

My Mother's Red Shawl - El Rebozo Colorado
JJ Lee - Writer





As a camera collector, I was curious to see what kind of equipment Alex would have laying about his house. A Canon rangefinder with a speed winder sat nonchalantly on a stack of books by the baby grand. For some collectors it would be a Holy Grail kind of camera. Alex uses it as a paper weight. Alex feigns no glibness when it comes to the red shawl. Once worn by his mother, the rebozo he keeps in a chest in a dining room. A treasure. The shawl is rough woolen material loomed by hand on a small machine. The red sits deeply in the fibre and is most likely vegetable dye. It lacks the chemical or acrid fluorescence one finds in synthetic reds. It was much shorter than I would have thought. Another surprise, I did not know the wide cast of characters who have posed in it before me. For example, Yuliya Kate, a dominatrix stood before the lens with not much more than a few straps of leather and bits of metal on her bare skin. If I had known, I may have been tempted to take a deep inhale to draw in its bouquet. I know it pervvy and kind of Hannibal Lecterous. But I don't come across such women in my regular life, at least, not to my knowledge.

But I digress. To wear the rebozo as a scarf around the neck would have been quite nice but I kept on thinking of Toulouse Lautrec's poster of Aristide Bruant. You can't really compete with that. I suppose I could have geared down (Alex, it seems, is able to lead many a fine looking sitter to wear nothing but the rebozo, and, who knows, perhaps he hoped I would do the same) but I'm more known for they way I dress than the way I undress. I threw it over my head instead. The only other person to do so would be Bill Richardson, the CBC radio host.

Alex first took a Polaroid (though I believe it is Fuji instant film) which I was able to keep. He has the instant negative and the proper full frame transparency taken on roll film. He took four or five shots. I'm not sure what my image says or conveys. There's the bow tie, a bit of discoloration on my face and not even sure at what I am looking but I knew I wanted the red of the rebozo to be the star of the photograph.



JJ Lee Writer
Jacqueline Model
Cathy Marsden Psychiatrist
André De Mondo Wanderer
Colin MacDonald Saxophonist/Composer
Nina Gouveia Yoga Instructor
Stacey Hutton Excercise Physiologist
Colleen Wheeler Actor
Sarah Rodgers Actor, Director,Mother
Timothy Turner - Real Estate Agent
Kiera Hill Dancer
Johnna Wright & Sascha Director/Mother - Son/Dreamer
Decker & Nick Hunt Cat & 19th century amateur
George Bowering Poet
Celia Duthie Gallerist
Linda Lorenzo Mother
Katheryn Petersen Accordionist
Stefanie Denz Artist
Ivette Hernández Actress
Byron Chief-Moon Actor/Dancer
Colin Horricks Doctor
Ian Mulgrew Vancouver Sun Columnist
Jocelyn Morlock Composer
Corinne McConchie Librarian
Rachel Ditor Dramaturg
Patrick Reid Statesman, Flag Designer
Michael Varga CBC Cameraman
Bronwen Marsden Playwright/Actress/Director
David Baines Vancouver Sun Columnist
Alex Waterhouse-Hayward Photographer
Lauren Elizabeth Stewart Student
Sandrine Cassini Dancer/Choreographer
Meredith Kalaman Dancer/Choreographer
Juliya Kate Dominatrix