ERICA GÉNÉCÉ IS THE FUTURE.
We had the honor of interviewing this talented woman, who is a young, shining bright voice in today’s photography scene. She talks about her creative process, her future in photography, and major influences. We love this lady work so badly, and this interview is a dream ❤.
SMC: Erica, thank you so much for being with us! We are huge fans of your work, and we honestly think that you are one of the most expressive and artistic creatives of our times. To start, can you tell our followers a little bit about yourself?
EG: I'm so excited to be chatting with Suck My Chic! Thanks for having me on. A little about me; My name is Erica Génécé. I’m a photographer/filmmaker currently based in Brooklyn, NY. I’m first-generation American, with both of my parents coming from Haiti. I love celebrating culture and the beauty that it brings, as well as telling stories of the past and applying them to the present day. I also love being out in nature!
SMC: Why did you decide to become a photographer/filmmaker?
EG: I’ve always loved art. There are home videos of me at 2 years old holding cameras and trying to direct, so I think it was always there. I took one or two photo classes in high school, and always had a passion for it, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year of college when I got into a car accident that put me out of school for about a month that I really had time to think and decided to give myself the best chance possible of pursing a dream I didn’t even know I had. I figured I had to be happy, taking pictures did that. In my mind, if the way to happiness was by becoming a photographer, I was going to give it a try.
SMC: What are your biggest influences? What are your favorite things to photograph?
EG: I love history and documentaries, so some of my favorite things to look at and be influenced by are documentaries and paintings, especially traditional paintings. Some of my biggest keywords for my work are regality and strength, and I see that in a lot of traditional paintings and portraits. I love photographing people and cultures, especially minorities from the Diaspora. I can tell historical stories through my subjects, whether my own story or their own. Photographing people allows me to see minorities the way I’ve always wanted them depicted in my life; strong, influential, and in charge.
SMC: How does your creative process work?
EG: My creative process is multi-layered. An idea might come from watching a documentary or even just randomly thinking. I’ll usually write it down with any other ideas for the shoot at that moment. I’ll brute about it for a little bit until I feel like it’s been nagging at me long enough — that’s how I know it’s a story I’m currently compelled to talk about and it has to be shot. I’ll then get my team together, based on what I need for the shooting team, and prop-wise. It’s important to me that I bring on people that a) believe in the concept, and b) can give their artistic talents towards the shoot in the best way possible for the shoot itself. I do a lot of prep in pre-production, so that when we get on set I can be comfortable and just have fun. You create the best work when you’re having fun on set. At least I do.
SMC: How do you see yourself in the future?
I see myself doing the same things I am currently doing. I hope I can continue to inspire and teach different ideas and cultures to people that might not always understand other people’s perspectives. I want to be able to bridge that gap, and inspire people who look like me to push for their dreams. I want women to pursue their dreams. I want to see my work on people's walls, on their bookshelves and coffee tables in book form. I want to be able to help up, and coming artists get better in telling their own personal stories, because at the end of the day it’s not just about MY work in particular, but it’s about being heard and brought to the table around the world and for centuries to come.
SMC: Erica, it was so real, girl! We hope to collaborate with you in a recent future, and we are so tremendously proud of you and your work!
To find Erica’s work online, these are the links:
XOXO, SMC.
