Alexander Daumas, a 22-year-old San Diego City College student, lived in the United States until the age of five. When his family lost their home to the 2008 financial crisis, his parents decided to move back to Mexico, where he was raised through adolescence.
“I decided that I wanted to come over here and study (for a) degree,” Daumas said. “And of course, it has made me appreciate the things that as an American you get, that you don’t get as a Mexican, right?”
Having experienced a binational way of life, Daumas became fascinated by the way society operates and functions.
“I always loved the idea of humans in movement, and kind of this rhythm, this like circadian rhythm that happens in our cities,” Daumas said. “Our society is kind of like: the sun comes out, people wake up, go to work, come back. This kind of flow that occurs, like day in, day out.”
Daumas describes his photographing style as a “documentary process,” one that inadvertently captures the way San Diego works and operates as a border town.
“I want (others) to have a little taste of what it feels to be a San Diegan,” Daumas said. “But also bring to light these, like, rituals that occur in San Diego only, and make them as clear as the nose on your face.”
Five of his photos are currently on display at the Luxe Gallery until Nov. 21, part of the Teo City photo showcase the San Diego City photography department is hosting.
The five photos document various “in between” spaces in the San Diego-Tijuana region. One of the images captures trolley riders from inside. A second image of the trolley depicts people waiting for the trolley on a platform.
The moodiness of these photos sets an isolated and overall despondent tone. One gallery viewer described Daumas’ images as having exposed the cracks in San Diego.
“Sometimes when you hop in the trolley it’s a terrible experience because it’s a representation of the fabric of San Diego. We are a city that’s suffering,” Daumas said. “The San Diego that you experience is not the same San Diego that working class San Diegans experience, and so that’s why I photographed the trolleys.”
All of Daumas’ pieces are analog works in which he shoots, develops and makes prints of, all on his own.
“I love seeing his work, just the way his mind works,” said Dia Soto, a classmate of Daumas. “He’s running back and forth, going from like the light room to the dark room, and you just never know what he’s really working on, because he’s focusing on so many things at once.”
In this series, Daumas addresses the concept of nepantla, a nahuatl word meaning “in the middle” used by Latine artists to describe the liminal space between two cultures or identities.
“This is not a normal thing, people don’t live in this, like, in betweenness in other parts of the world in such a hurtful way,” Daumas said. “It’s so in your face that you don’t see it. It’s this close and you just can’t see it.”
The dissonance of inbetweenness is something that has caused tension in Daumas’ personal life as reflected by his art.
“I’m not really a photographer by trade. I’m trying to be a mathematician, right?” Daumas said. “So, do I belong here? Maybe not. Do I belong in the city of San Diego? Maybe not. But I don’t really belong in Mexico either, because I’m not like, quote, unquote, Mexican, right?”
This story was edited by David J. Bohnet and Itzel Martinez.
Editor’s note: City Times Media has updated its style guide to standardize the use of the word Chicane and/or Latine when referring to people together who identify as a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Latin American land or culture. The Associated Press Stylebook recommends using the word Chicano/Latino.
