Fall In

• Prize
• Photographer
  Alejandra Carles-Tolrá, United States
• Studio
  Alejandra Carles-Tolra
• Website
  http://www.alejandractr.com

FALL IN

My photographs portray a group of college students seeking to
explore and define their emerging identities. These young
people have chosen an unusual path: they are all enrolled in the
Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). When joining, they are
taught a set of values and expectations that adhere to a group
philosophy. As they struggle to define their own identities, they
are also presented with a well-established role to play. Like
actors who perform according to a script and can transform
their personalities on stage, these cadets are learning a military
script that will not only teach them how to perform in the field
but require them to adopt a new persona as their own.

I began to photograph cadets of different ages, from a range of
universities in Boston, during their physical and mental training
to become leaders in the U.S. Army. I am most drawn to
depicting how individual identity and military persona coexist.
Resonating within these images is this confluence of agendas, at
times subtle and at other times quite apparent. In my work, I
explore the cadets’ success in adopting their roles, and look at
the differences between freshman and seniors, men and women,
and those who plan to become active and reserve officers.

I draw inspiration from the rich, dramatic lighting of the
baroque paintings of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Velazquez. In
my photographs, I explore the nebulous threshold between the
individual personality and identity within the group.

My name is Alejandra Carles-Tolrá and I am a Spanish photographer currently living in Boston, MA. I was born in Barcelona, where I gained my bachelorâ??s degree in Sociology from the Universitat de Barcelona. Recently I moved to the US to study my Master in Fine Arts in Photography at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston. Through photography I intend to bring new light to contemporary phenomena and social trends, and invite the viewers to approach them from a different perspective.