VERSUS_Mesopotamia To the Lower Eastside

Bullfighting and boxing share a common origin in ancient Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean, and the lower east side of New York. Yep, you read that right. On a small black and white television in my Nana's apartment on Madison Street, my love affair began. Part cultural, part holy shit, I was enthralled by the rawness and life on the line of it all. These men, with an occasional matadora, were not messing around. And while my understanding refined with time, it was the emotional agreement to the potential outcome that kept my fascination. And but for a moment, I think I understood, well, at least in the smallest of ways, when I attended my first bullfight and professional boxing matches. In a state of hyper-awareness with blood pumping, I put myself in the ring and rose to cheer. Then I saw what happens during the commercials, but no matter, I cheered some more, remaining a faithful fan. What state of being does this require? Is it ego, fear, lack of fear, a state of hypervigilance that allows an individual to stand face to face with this moment of not knowing?

With a variety of tools and techniques are images I hope convey this lifelong curiosity, passion, and attempt to understand what it takes, and what it feels like to, as Hemingway said, "...take your life all the way up." –Melissa Roldan