See Equality: Let’s use our collective voices
to make the world a better, more just place for everyone.
We hope that 2020 will be remembered as a year of unprecedented change: in the world around us, within our own families, and within ourselves. In recent days, just as we had all begun to master our new daily rituals, transforming simple acts we once took for granted into charts on the fridge requiring multiple steps ("grocery store: mask, gloves, wipes ... ask neighbors if they need anything"); another meteor slammed into this unsteady cosmic universe. The world looked on in abject horror for eight minutes and 46 seconds, as white police officers ruthlessly killed another unarmed black man. Every morning since, we find ourselves privately checking the mirror before we leave the house with our masks on: "Is my bias showing today?" This shift in thinking feels transformative to us, as we know it does for many; and we feel so much cause for hope.
Truthfully, over the last few months, whether working with our couples to help them re-imagine a new way forward to happily ever after; or working with our families and neighbors to creatively navigate a path toward a healthy future, we have seen firsthand how powerful we are when we come together to help one other. Witnessing the tireless commitment of thousands upon thousands of people across our nation and around the world, as they exercise their right to protest inequality and brutality, we have felt even more determined. #BlackLivesMatter
Wanting to give something special to our couples who are dealing with wedding plan challenges during a global pandemic suddenly merged with the call to help make our world a better, more just place for everyone. We've landed here, deciding to use our creative platform to generate as much hope as we can through a photographic art series. We'd like to invite you to join us by participating in this photo series, which we are calling #BeeBetterTogether: 20/20 Vision in 2020 and Beyond.
We've joined up with our friends at Barker Creates, a fantastic design/build studio for creative endeavors, to create this artistic series designed to bring some light from the darkness. The language of art speaks to everyone individually in meaningful ways. We want to give everyone who participates in this project the opportunity to be fully present and to reflect the light within that shines when we are a part of something larger than ourselves. Love is the gravitational force that unites us, across time and space.
20/20 Vision: Seeing Equality. Let's #BeeBetterTogether. Please join us!
Thank you,
--Brittany & Johnny
ARTISTIC VISION
The Use of Color is central to this project:
Neon Sign: The pink emanating from the "Better Together" sign represents friendship, harmony, and inner peace. We chose this color because pink is produced from a mixture of colors (red and purple light), which are positioned at opposite ends of the visible spectrum. No single wavelength of light appears pink! This struck us as decidedly apt for our project, which is all about our common humanity coming together to support racial equality and justice -- or in the words of Ibram X. Kendi: "I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."
Symbolism of Old + New: We thought using the old-fashioned quality of a neon light would create an atmosphere of a bygone era, while also lending itself to reflections of a night sky (with our photo sessions occurring at night), as if the message "Better Together" had been written in the stars. We also realized that "neon" is a Greek word that means "new." The underlying juxtaposition of "old and new" spoke to us symbolically, which is reflected in the dynamic quality of light in all images.
Shades of Light: We manipulated beams of light and shifted color to demonstrate visually how the power of the energy that resides within each one of us is multiplied when we join together: an increased level of consciousness, a transformative shift to lead us toward a better, more just world for all.
We view this project as a visual testament to the power of being surrounded by
a community of people whose hearts will not be silenced
and who inspire us to greater heights.
We hope you will join us. Together we can #BeeBetterTogether.
