Gisele Depina-Teixeira

“i'm not good with spicy food but i would die for buffalo chicken dip”

- Fun Fact about Gisele

Artist statement

There's something I find beautiful about moments of singularity and togetherness. The ability to convey any type of experience or a feeling of understanding to the viewer through photography is what’s important to me as an artist. Over the past three years, I began to start taking photos in a way that was new to me. While I used to only aim for what I thought was aesthetic or most appealing to a large audience, I soon began to discover that there was more that could happen with photography, and stories that I could tell, including a part of my own. 

Since then, I have focused mainly on photographing the people in my life, from family and friends, to new relationships and people I've just met. While still taking what I’ve learned to love from photographing in highschool, I'm discovering my own way to showcase the people I love in a way that both my subjects and my audience can appreciate. I feel drawn to embrace and the comfort people find in themselves, and I find excitement in the viewer being able to resonate with what I might be feeling while taking these photos. I want to be able to showcase these people by how I see them best and how much they affect me in the best ways. I choose to photograph these people in spaces they feel comfortable, whether it be in their own homes or even their jobs. I've come to realize after a while, that that same level of comfort can also be reached by the people or things they are surrounded by. 

What I aim to focus on with this project is how much these people in my life mean to me and how much they have taught me. I have the widest array of people I call family who are all so unique but so similar in the way that they love. From these people I have learned things like making sure to run around on rooftops even if you're afraid of the floor falling through and how family can mean the people who hold you up everyday and the ones you can't wait to set the table with on Thanksgiving. The people I'm around and the many environments I have called home have all had a strong part in the reason I'm drawn to taking photos and I want to acknowledge them first while they're still around me. At this moment in my life I feel like I can't focus on anything but these people because I owe so much to them and this format is the best way for me to show it. I feel like these photos might resonate with a lot of people who view them. Whether it reminds them of moments they've experienced in their own way, seeing someone that reminds them of their cousin or the girl who picked up a pencil for them in 5th grade, or a bedroom that looks so familiar. While there would be no way to decipher the difference between a bedroom that might be mine or someone else's, the same reason is there - capturing the essence of identity or importance. I want you to be able to imagine or identify a life for these people and spaces and what they might mean to me or what they might even mean to you.

Biography

Taunton, Massachusetts

Gisele Depina-Teixeira, a Boston-based photographer and Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, discovered her passion for photography early in life within her close-knit Cape Verdean family. Specializing in portraits and environmental photography, she draws viewers in with direct and intimate compositions, often featuring subjects making eye contact with the camera. While primarily digital, she also explores medium format film and 4x5 photography for added depth. Central to her artistic vision is the concept of recognition and connection. Gisele seeks to evoke a sense of comfort and familiarity, blurring the lines between personal and shared experiences. Her current project focuses on capturing the essence of meaningful relationships and memories. Through her art, Gisele celebrates the beauty of human connection and the lasting impact of loved ones.

Interview

Haley - How did your project come about? What inspired you to photograph the people in your life?

Gisele - For me, it’s something I’ve been photographing since I found out what a camera was. My mom’s house was full of people growing up and someone was always taking a picture of someone, so I naturally wanted to try it myself too. I would steal any disposable or point and shoot camera that I found around the house and take as many photos that I could to show everyone that I can do it too. It was exciting, especially as a kid, because it was like at that moment everyone stopped and focused on you and I wanted all the attention.

Haley - I love the way you write about having your subjects photographed in spaces that make them comfortable. You capture these people and spaces with such elegance and each image feels raw and authentic. You're able to create such a comforting environment within these photos. Can you further explain the importance of photographing in and around these spaces?

Gisele - I think of it kind of like when you were younger and you would go to a friend's house and their parents were over. Or when you’re alone trying to find the entrance to this new restaurant you haven't been to yet and you're walking up and down the street trying to figure out where to go. It's like it doesn't always matter who you're with or what city you're in, but in these kinds of moments you're never actually fully relaxed. You're tense, or you're acting polite, you can be anything but there's always gonna be a difference between that version of you and the version that is in your bedroom after you come home from work or school. It's a version of you that's a little more honest and a little more relaxed, even if it's such a slight shift.

Haley - The meaning behind so much of your work has been very personal. It’s something that I really admire. With a subject matter that is very personal, what advice would you give to someone who wants to create a project based on family?

Gisele - Something that helped me a lot specifically when photographing my family, was just learning to be there in the moment with them. I feel like anytime I tried to press a photo or idea I had in my head it never came out the way I wanted. These people have a certain way they move around you, and that's the best thing you can try to get. Some of my favorite photos came when they didn't even know I was looking at them.

Haley - You write about “taking photos in a way that is new” to you. What are, if any, differences that you notice between your earlier work and the work you’re creating now for this project? 

Gisele - When I began photographing I felt like I was inspired solely by fashion photography and social media, I was looking in a very different direction. Not to say I don't still take inspiration from those things, I think now I just take a lot more inspiration from the people around me too. The way we speak together, live together and even the way we look at each other. I think those things could all work together, it's just the part I'm choosing to work on right now.

Haley - To go back to working with your family, your project is very focused on relationships. Over the course of the project has your bond with them in any way grown stronger?

Gisele - I’ve been taking photos of my family for forever, even when it wasn't for a project but just on my phone to put on my moms facebook. It's always been something that keeps us close but you can say that about a lot of families. Growing up and being in that kind of environment definitely helped create a love for photography but I guess it did also help grow a stronger bond in some ways. It's given me an excuse to go back home and get all my friends together and I've been able to show my grandparents how I photograph along with the appreciation I have for them even with a language barrier -  it also was a starting point to building a stronger relationship with my dad. So I definitely cherish being able to grow in those ways because of this project.