Mythology, heritage, identity: student work at New York’s International Center of Photography

These images highlighting themes of climate resilience, personal trauma and identity are part of an exhibition of the work of students from more than 25 different countries

  • The annual student showcase will be on view at the International Center of Photography in New York from 18 May until 2 September
Main image: Photograph: Adriel Michelle

  • Noy Finer, from לבד (Alone)

    ‘Pronounced as “leh-vahd,” לְבַד is a Hebrew word meaning alone. לְבַד explores the emotional complexities of dealing with personal trauma, drawing from childhood memories and challenging family dynamics. As part of my healing process, I use portraiture as an outlet to convey feelings of isolation, exclusion, and loneliness. Through this work, I hope to encourage a collective understanding of the emotions associated withhuman connection, fostering empathy and dialogue around the nature of meaningful relationships both with loved ones and with ourselves.’ – Noy Finer
    black and white picture of woman with two other women behind her

  • Anh Nguyen, from The Kitchen God Series

    ‘In popular Vietnamese mythology, every family is said to have three kitchen gods residing in their house. Altars are typically placed by the stove so the gods can always watch over and ensure family members treat each other well and all matters of the home are in order. The Kitchen God Series explores the imaginative landscape of myth, looking at how young Vietnamese people create homes of their own in New York City. By unpacking cultural rituals as performance, this next generation finds ways to make traditions part of their own lives.’ – Anh Nguyen
    woman with a raw egg in her mouth

  • Gabriel Civita Ramirez, from Ceded Concrete

    ‘The John V Lindsay East River Park runs across a stretch of urbanized coastline on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a place where issues of climate change, class and community governance become visible. In December 2019, city officials launched the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, a $1.45bn initiative to reconstruct the park for climate resilience. This plan sparked controversy as it replaced a former proposal that was less invasive. Despite fierce pushback from the surrounding community, the demolition phase began in December 2021. Ceded Concrete documents the park’s transformation, exploring the tension between mourning and acceptance as the landscape undergoes a dramatic change.’ – Gabriel Civita Ramirez
    black and white picture of collapsed fencing in a park

  • Costanza Damiani, from Tracce

    ‘To leave a mark, a trace, an impression. To tightly embrace and feel the vulnerability of another crumbling. Tracce emerges from the need to give form to unspoken words and visually represent the significant impressions we leave on others through emotional connection. In all forms of love, we imprint traces through our actions, words and energies. This work explores the emotional architecture of sensitive gestures towards malleable materials and physical bodies. Central to the work is the element of love: love as exchange, interaction and bond. A complex physical and mental state, love is ever-shifting and vulnerable – leaving marks on many different shapes and forms.’ – Costanza Damiani
    two people lying in a bed

  • Chia Yun Wu, from mother-land

    ‘Taiwan has been isolated from the world due to its political issues with China. Questions of independence, identity and territory never have clear answers. This lonely island is surrounded by the ocean, waves and tears. To the people who are waiting to be recognized as an independent nation, the image of water has become a symbol of fluidity, unsettlement and confusion. I seek to deconstruct the essence of these elements by reconstructing a solemn, while hopeful, map. This project represents the sensation of alienation, exploring the state of contradiction that exists between freedom and burden.’ – Chia Yun Wu
    silhouette of a woman's face

  • Adriel Michelle, from For You Infinitely

    ‘For You Infinitely invites viewers to listen to stories of the past and present, connecting generations across time and space. Centered around my mother Nicoli’s childhood photo album, it delves into her journey from St Thomas, Jamaica, to the United States – each faded page revealing the history of my family’s dreams, love, and resilience.’ – Adriel Michelle
    photo of a family overlaid on plant

  • Ottavia Giola, from Her

    ‘Her transports us to an alternate reality by introducing us to “the other woman”. She is the protagonist of this photograph, though she is an obscure character in my personal life. By constructing a story about a woman I have never met, I explore the questions arising from the end of a relationship – particularly those that our minds create when we experience sorrow, vulnerability and jealousy. As I reflect on my relationship with desire and yearning, Her encourages the audience to consider their own. Can I find the answers I am looking for in my life, or in hers?’ – Ottavia Giola
    black and white photo of someone in a bath

  • Nathalie Taiana, from Audchaonk (Hunting)

    ‘Within the landscape of Southampton, Long Island, there is a 1.3 sq mile territory belonging to the Shinnecock Tribe – known as the “People of the Stony Shore”. In the heart of one of the wealthiest areas of New York state, the tribe maintains a connection to their native heritage by continuing the tradition of hunting. This remains an important aspect of their Indigenous community, which they will pass on to the next generation.’ – Nathalie Taiana
    people on a barge covered in reeds

  • Ena Boskovic, from Bez Naslova (Untitled)

    ‘Born in the former Yugoslavia – a country that no longer exists – I have experienced feelings of displacement. I do not entirely belong to Bosnia and Herzegovina, my birthplace, nor did I fully assimilate into Canada, where I relocated as a child. I use my body as a canvas to navigate questions of identity and belonging, observing physical sensations rather than mental analysis. Turning the lens inward, I explore my relationship between body and space. While each environment has shaped me, I too have left subtle imprints on these places. Through self-exploration, I discover new facets of myself within the spaces I occupy.’ – Ena Boskovic
    naked person bending over

  • Ana Rosa Marx, from The Aphrodite

    ‘The Aphrodite is a speculative archive of the cruising scene at a fictional lesbian porn cinema house in 1980s Times Square. Combining the real with the imagined – fictionalized ephemera, restaged scenes of sapphic intimacy and documentary images of the last porn theater in the city – The Aphrodite envisions an alternate history of public queer contact. This project asks what spaces of refuge could have looked like had they been owned and patronized by queer women and trans folks of all classes, and what the practice of ritual reimagining offers to the struggle for more liberated and inclusive futures.’ – Anna Rosa Marx
    people kissing in red lit room
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