Jahaira DeAlto Balenciaga was murdered in 2021 and she was the first local person Caleb Cole made a portrait of in real time. As a local activist, she was also involved in the creation of the Trans Day of Rememberance before she ultimately became a person and name to remember.
Title from artist.
Artist's Statement: In Lieu of Flowers is an ongoing series of memorial portraits of the transpeople murdered in the United States and Puerto Rico due to transphobia, state violence, and neglect. Part mourning ritual and part photograph, I use the roses from my garden and portraits primarily made by the subjects themselves to create a series of anthotypes, images created using photosensitive material from plants and the sun that cannot be fixed, therefore will inevitably fade. This process is an act of devotion and extended witnessing over the course of the days- to weeks-long exposures. When I move the prints from window to window each day to keep them in direct sunlight, I spend time looking into each person’s eyes, connecting with their joy and grieving for their absence. The sun, the source of life, cannot revive them, yet the sunlight that creates each anthotype is the same light that once illuminated each original selfie, connecting us to one another. The resulting work is an examination of community, loss, time, and the impossible effort to extend both the life of my roses and the memory of these stolen lives.
Notes (date):
Date from artist.
Notes (exhibitions):
This item was displayed in the exhibition "Revolution! 250 Years of Art and Activism in Boston," October 2025-April 2026.
IIIF Manifest