Rafael Fuchs

Rafael Fuchs’ “Bushwick Women Are Beautiful” presents a unique immersive take on the local culture and energy of Brooklyn’s female culture. These images (that are a part of the book with the same title) are a showcase of an eclectic collection of visual portraiture of Bushwick’s many muses. The environmental elements of the photos herald the aesthetic of urban grit melded with idealistic beauty. An ethereal beauty performing with an air of nonchalant confidence in a bath tub placed on a front yard. A nude woman is opening the heavy bedroom door that used to be the door of a freight elevator in a formerly industrial building that converted and became an artists’ lofts haven. A beautiful and broody woman is sitting against a red velvet background. A woman wearing a bowling pin costume is passing by the hallway, carrying a light from the photo shoot she just participated in. 
True goddesses of the urban jungle that is Bushwick, these women are not afraid to be themselves. Sweat, lipstick, persistence, bare skin, fringed stockings, tattooed arms, and quickly vintage accents blossom with unbridled creative self-expression, swirling into a melting pot of true feminine strength and vulnerability. These women are not afraid to get their hands dirty, and they’re not afraid to effortlessly rock a fabulous outfit while doing so. Surrealism takes center stage as elements of theatrical fashion and imaginative whimsy showcase these women in their natural environments. You look at this presentation of editorialist street style and your perspective slowly begins to shift. Who are these women? What are their stories? Their bodies and their presence stands between the setting of Bushwick, Brooklyn and worlds of their own. It is in this space of in between that we too can connect with our inner spirit, connecting us all to one another. Essay by Hope Diamond.