By: Nikki Randolph
Aubrey Edwards looks like an artist. I had never met her before our interview, but I knew who she was from the minute she bounced into the bohemian courtyard of Fair Grinds, an organic coffee house near the New Orleans Fair Grounds.
It seemed more appropriate to take up space outside despite the chill in the air that day. Aubrey has a presence from the moment she enters a room. She is tall, confident and wearing fashionable boots. She is native of California, but now claims Austin, Brooklyn and NOLA as home (the hipster trifecta). We discussed art, her outlook on life, and her reasons for moving to New Orleans.
Her California childhood was cold and impersonal. Led by an innate desire for a connection she moved from Suburbia to Austin. Here she earned her BA in Journalism at the University of Texas and began taking photos for musicians and bands. This evolved into her working with SXSW, the Grammys and Vibe Magazine. Other notable clients include The New Yorker, Nylon, Neiman Marcus, Playboy and The Oxford American.
Aubrey’s focus is portraits, and they are both vibrant and polished, but occasionally hint at a staged loneliness. I felt a connection with her subjects and wanted to know more about them.
Like most music photographers, she gets a chance to see our musical heroes up close and personal. Musicians have a love/hate relationship with the media, especially photographers. They realize this person can pull back the curtain on their real persona.That can be terrifying for someone paid to play a role in the public eye. This says something special about Aubrey; both ordinary people and musical superstars trust her. She has photographed musical legend Allen Toussaint as well as recent superstars such as Talib Kweli, Amy Winehouse (RIP), and Lil Wayne.
After establishing herself as a photographer, Aubrey moved to Brooklyn, but realized that something was still missing. She found herself traveling to New Orleans for work, and discovered the connections and roots here that she had been searching for her whole life. She took her time in establishing a New Orleans residence, but appears to be here for the long haul. She quotes, “New Orleans has something about it, something that runs deep inside of both the ground and your soul, that is hard to let go of once NOLA has you in her grasp.”
She is locally known for her ongoing attempt to canonize New Orleans hip hop and bounce artists. The project named “Where They at NOLA?”captures local favorites like Mia X and Choppa, but also tells their stories. She worked on the project with Alison Fensterstock, a local writer familiar with the NOLA musical scene and exhibited a series of photos with biographies at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.
When Aubrey finishes a large project, she takes time to unwind and works on unpaid projects near and dear to her heart. After Katrina, she came to the city to take photos of families who needed to replace their family albums. She spoke about how important it was to her to give her time and talents to those people who had lost everything they had, and how those photos meant so much to them. She also worked with the New Orleans Kid Camera Project, where children were encouraged to express their feelings about their losses during Katrina through art. “There is a fine line between documenting someone and exploiting them.” Aubrey believes in the power of one person to make a difference in the lives of others. That is why she devotes so much of her time to the causes she believes in.
As our time together ended, I asked her why she ultimately chose NOLA to be her home. She told me that she is inspired by the city, “The city itself is so abundant with creatives that I can’t help but be inspired to do amazing work here.” She has finally found her connection, those roots she’s been looking for.
For more info visit:
Aubrey Edwards http://www.aubreyedwards.com/
New Orleans Kid Camera Project http://www.kidcameraproject.org/
Veterans Photo Project http://www.veteransphotoproject.org/
‘Where they at Nola?’ http://www.wheretheyatnola.com/
