Alana Celii is a photographer and photo editor based in New York. She graduated from Parsons the New School for Design with her BFA in 2009, and is currently a photo editor at the NYT. Her work has been published in Time, Vice, Booooooom, and Mossless, among others. She has exhibited in the US and abroad, and will be attending a residency in Iceland in the fall.
Paradise Falling
Did I actually reach out my arms
toward it, toward paradise falling, like
the fading of the dearest, wildest hope —
the dark heart of the story that is all
the reason for its telling?
— Mary Oliver from “The Chance to Love Everything”
By observing and making imagery of the natural world around me, I have become a collector–I am gathering together images whose subjects are often scattered or widespread. Like Jazz, these images exist through improvisation, syncopation, and rhythm. Their meaning is developed through their own fluidity and abstraction. But also, this imagery is rooted in memory and my desire for the past to go away. Through organization and curation, I am able to redefine meaning and time.
To view more of Alana’s work please visit her website.