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ABOUT
My name is Alima Faye Smith, professionally known as Alima Faye. Being London born and raised, and growing up in a large family of seven, with four siblings; my life has always been busy, loud and very colourful. As a family we have many gifts and talents which we have been supported to develop and encouraged to celebrate.
I have always had an interest in the arts, and my love for photography began with a fascination in capturing the beauty of nature. I studied photography at Cambridge School of Art and settled after four years of photographic experimentation (still life, commercial and fashion, documentary and portrait photography) on portrait photography. I enjoyed capturing images that grew out of the natural interaction and created simple compositions that revealed the character of the sitter.
Being a portrait photographer, I believe that the human face can tell the story of the individual, more specifically their pains, traumas, break throughs and achievements. As a black woman of Caribbean heritage, I have experienced race as both a positive and negative entity. My family celebrated our culture and traditions. I believed we were beautiful, intelligent and talented until I was faced with what British society said about the colour of my skin. My Father and brother who I saw as strong, were viewed as unproductive and dangerous criminals, and a threat to society. For me it was important to highlight the injustices and the misrepresentation of my people, the black man, and ME;
I intend to use my creative voice to celebrate the black culture and our rich heritage which is full of stories and experiences. I will evoke the audiences’ emotion and capture the subjects’ experiences and their journey through life with empathy with my camera.