The photograph "Lanee" was shown at the art show at Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory in 2022 as a part of the project "In Her Own Hands".
Lanee is a fashion designer, a model, and a mother of two kids, one of whom
was diagnosed with autism. Day after day she creates her own world, empowering and supporting people around her, helping black models get their place in the fashion industry and defending their rights. She is a powerful source of inspiration, teaching by example what it means to be a leader and to be a woman.
was diagnosed with autism. Day after day she creates her own world, empowering and supporting people around her, helping black models get their place in the fashion industry and defending their rights. She is a powerful source of inspiration, teaching by example what it means to be a leader and to be a woman.
Elena Dorman about her project In Her Own Hands:
"These are my thoughts captured as photographs about what it means to me to be a woman today. It is very personal and abstract at the same time as each picture is telling us a story about the woman, though it is also about a woman, about each of us.
Nowadays women are surrounded by many clichés and stereotypes. Thus, sometimes it becomes difficult to hear yourself, to face yourself, and to be honest with yourself. With my project, I intend to help women recognize themselves in all these different roles and images and accept who they are.
My goal is to show women in their natural environment, through their hands, gestures, and other subjects related to them. Our hands are wonderful storytellers! They can tell a lot about love and support, joy, spiritual life, passion, dedication, and even the future. We literally build our lives and the world around us with our own hands every single day, little by little, that is why it is so important to know, to be aware of who we are right now, who is next to us, what unites us, and how we can help or ask for help.
Before you see In Her Own Hands, take a minute to think about what you can learn from looking at someone's hands. Are they actively engaged, resting calmly, or motionless and passive? Are they sharing or holding? Do they show acceptance or the opposite? What do they tell you about age, experience, and lifestyle? Try to keep your heart open, and you will see that this is a story about you!
This project's conclusion has an open date, as I feel that I still have other tales to tell. Who knows, the viewer might become part of the next story..