Angelika Kollin
@angelikakollin
1271 Following
5603 Followers
Everyday Saints
I wish to give voice and visibility to the people who deserve it most: the hardworking individuals who form the backbone of every community across the globe.
In a society that so often admires the rich and the famous, we tend to overlook the everyday heroes who make life function. These raw but tender portraits of domestic workers from Cape Town are my humble attempt to acknowledge and celebrate my heroines - their stories and the extraordinary strength of their spirit, that I can only bow to.
Many of the women in these portraits are immigrants and day laborers. Like so many others across the world, they left their homeland not by choice, but by necessity - to provide for themselves and their families. It’s no small feat, especially when faced with the daily reality of meager wages, gender-based harassment, verbal assaults for being “foreign,” and, for some, the added challenge of finding work as an older woman in a youth-fixated world. Each morning, many of them stand at busy intersections, dressed in their best, holding on to the hope of finding work for the day.
Every part of that struggle is etched on their strong, graceful faces. Yet, what struck me most was the presence of something far more profound. Whether we call it hope, faith, or simply an inner strength that rises in spite of everything - it surrounded these women like an invisible force. It radiated from them like light. It wrapped around their fragility and turned it into power.
I myself come from a family of multigenerational immigrants. I know what it’s like to not have a choice. I have heard it from my grandmother, who was born in 1928. I have seen my father’s hidden tears because he missed his home. I know the feeling of not being good enough, of being seen as lesser or poorer.
No one chooses that.
And if you’ve had the gift of being born into privilege - such as an economically stable country, a safe family, or a life where you can live freely - don’t forget that privilege comes with responsibility. Be grateful for it, yes. But don’t just sit with it. Use it. Use that gift life gave you to empower others. To encourage. To uplift.
Because the same God you pray to is the God who loves all His children.
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Juneteenth // Song of Psalms
Virginia 2021-22
My project "Song of Psalms" is an exploration of complex and intertwined stories of life challenges, faith, and the desire for positive change. It immerses us in a world where people face adversity and strive to overcome it, where faith provides hope, and the desire to change one's life gives strength to move forward. In "Song of Psalms", each character carries their own story and together, connected by family ties, they create a powerful kaleidoscope full of tragedy and hope, filled with faith in the possibility of justice and well-being for all.
At the center of my project is an amazing and strong grandmother, Dan, who serves as a unique intersection uniting all the characters. She reads prayers daily and is constantly in search of God, who comes to her aid through her own hands.
Psalms, a happy three-year-old boy, is Dan's grandson, whom she raises with his two older sisters. The children's mother, Dan's daughter, suffers from bipolar disorder and drug addiction, and constantly disappears from their lives, sometimes for several months at a time. The boy's father was recently released from prison, where he spent two years, and is now trying to do everything in his power for his only son. Of course, this is not a model family in the conventional sense, but it is the reality for many. Such families are often condemned, stigmatized, and their existence ignored. Children born into such difficult families often have a challenging childhood.
Psalms is too young to understand the complexities of his life, but at the same time, he is old enough to appreciate the happiness of having a family. When Psalms and his sisters yearn for family warmth, and as Dan seeks God, they discover that they become what they seek and what they await for each other. 12 replies
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