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THROUGH THE CRACKS By: Ariana Perez

“Through The Cracks” is a photo study of weeds survival and resilience and exhibits of weeds in the city. The photoshoot took place in Orange County, CA during the time of October and November of 2021. I selected 10 photos that demonstrate my work in this study. I wanted to focus on the ability of weeds that grow and survive in the most unlikely, inhabitable, and difficult areas. I have concluded that weeds do this as a means of survival. In real estate, you hear the phrase, “Location, Location, Location” but with weeds, it should be noted that weeds grow everywhere, given the basics of soil, light, and water. But where they tend to survive the best is in remote areas where they do not need to compete with other plants and are undisturbed by animals and humans. The theme of the study is resilience. So I looked up the definition of resilience and it is stated, “as the ability to absorb or avoid damage without suffering complete failure, to bounce back and survive.” The definition includes the ability to respond, absorb, and adapt to, as well as recover in a disruptive event. To be able to resist an extreme event with minimal damages and functionality disruptions during the event; after the event, it should be able to rapidly recover its functionality similar to or even better than before. I thought of looking at weeds and how they are perceived in our society. We are told that weeds are bad and should be killed. However, no matter how much weed killer is poured on them they find a way to come back. Actually, the use of herbicides only causes a small percentage of surviving weeds to mutate at the genetic level and promote new weeds that are resistant to the previously used herbicide, thus making weeds stronger. Herbicides, also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control unwanted plants. Selective herbicides control specific weed species. Thus, because weeds are so resilient and life finds a way to survive, we are in a constant race to update and change the formula to the adapting weeds so that it remains effective. Even though society tells us that weeds are considered undesirable, one must appreciate the ability to adapt and survive as a resilient species. What makes a weed bad and a flower good is the aesthetic appearance of the viewer, and beauty is objectified. However, there are certain species of weeds that people use for medicinal purposes, like dandelion and marijuana. In our current society, we are having more open-mindedness and I thought of the movements to support body positivity. Maybe we should have a second thought at weeds before we reach to pull it, does it really need to be removed or can it be appreciated and allowed to survive?

Ariana Perez is a 15-year old high school Sophomore. Her passions include music, art and literature, and especially Science. She is currently learning cyber security, specifically the system Linux. She likes to write poetry, take photos and create films that tell a story. She loves Las Fotos and has enrolled in other summer programs to supplement her knowledge and help her become an artist in multimedia.

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