BEYOND

THE
60TH SENSE
In the wake of 2017 Women's March and the fierce #metoo movement, on
which brave women stood for themselves bringing down some of the most
powerful men in the United States, I decided to start a project that would have
as subject equally fierce women.

"Beyond the 60th Sense" is a photo essay done over the course of two years
on which I photographed and interviewed females over 50s and listened to
their opinions and experiences on relevant topics such as body
empowerment, body shame, ageism, work/payment equality, mental health,
sexuality, among others.

"Beyond" is about breaking the paradigms of arbitrary perfection when it

comes to female beauty. It is a silently loud protest against the fallacy of
feminine beauty being linked to youth, so widely advertised and spread
nowadays. Finally, "Beyond the 60th Sense" is also about hearing the voices
of an important part of our society on relevant and sensitive topics without
judging their position but rather cherishing the paths that took them to such
views.
?I remember, I left home, it was rainy and freezing t hat day,
a t ypical cold fall season in London. I was freezing but
couldn?t take t hat misery any longer. I left wit h only my
child's bike, some clot hs, I stood up in. For over a year he
(my son's fat her) wouldn?t let me get back into t he house to
pick up my clot hing and belonging, and I needed to get
judicial assistance to finally get to t hem, " -- Su zan n e.
 " I don't k n ow w h at t h e secr et is..." --
an sw er in g m y qu est ion abou t h er cen t en n ial
age-- I sm ok ed u p t o m y 80s an d alw ays at e
por k , an d ever yt h in g I f elt lik e. I gu ess it h as
m or e t o do w it h gen et ics an d h appin ess t h an
an yt h in g else." -- Isabel, w h o h ad ju st t u r n ed
105 year s old.
 " For your own sake, I hope you will find a
connect ion like you and Tom had. However, I
believe t hat only happens once in a life t ime."
Tony who's husband passed from Cancer and
whose brot her-in-law ( and my best friend), t wo
years later met t he same fate.

Tony has been one of my best friends and

support ing person ever since t he passing of my best
friend Tom, last year.
 Lisa has been ?all over t he place,? as she likes to say. She
has lived in Oregon, Montana, and even Colombia ?just
for t he heck of it ,? she tells me in bet ween loud laughs. ?I
just wanted to experience somet hing different and
t hought Colombia would be a great place.?

Lisa also drives often all t he way from Montana to

Corvallis, Oregon, to spend t ime wit h her elderly sister.

?Making t he drive is not a sacrifice at all, as I am rewarded

wit h spending t ime in a cit y I love and wit h someone I
love.?
" I am no longer looking for love. Men don' t want me."
Cherry says, while I photograph her.

I, surprised, ask her why men wouldn' t want to date her.

At t his point , I am genuinely curious.

" A few years ago, doctors were suspicious I had breast

cancer. It t urned out not to be cancer. But t he many
exams I had to go t hrough left me scars.
One of t he men I dated told me st raight to my face: ' You
have such an ugly body' " She tells me wit h a
disappointed voice.
?Jeff is my everyt hing, I?ll love him t ill t he end of
my days when I can once again hold him in my arms
and marvel at t he wings t hat grace his feet .?
?My son was less about suicide and more about
mental illness. We will never hide behind my son
being sick and if we can help one kid or family bat t le
t his horrible Disease t hen my sons legacy is kept
alive.? - Tammy Linn, who lost her son ,who died by
suicide t wo weeks before our session due to his
bipolar disorder. Tammy decided doing t he session
anyway.
Tammy and her husband Bill have ever since become
act ive advocates for early ident ificat ion and
t reat ment mental of mental illness.
 ?I work hard, have always worked. I am smarter,
quicker, and, obviously, more experienced t han
young kids are. Not because I am bet ter t han t hey
are, but because I?ve lived what t hey have not .
Being older only means, being wiser, and more
experienced. Unfort unately, employers don?t see it
t hat way,? Eve, when asked about Ageism.