While Reylia Slaby would be technically classified as Caucasian, she was born and raised in Japan, and thus naturally, the foreign country is her home. Over the past few years she has been struggling with finding her identity saying, “While I had a lot to be thankful for growing up in Japan, being Caucasian made me a glorified visitor. My home was not fully my home because of how I looked.”
Now 21-years-old, the photographer recently began a creative project called Tales from Japan to help her deal with her mixed emotions. “The beginning of this project was like a breath of fresh air,” she says, “and it began to open doors in my mind and heart that I never knew were locked. It helped me deal with an aching pain I had always carried with me but never fully understood why.”
Ultimately, the young photographer hopes to create works that give people a deeper appreciation for the “exquisite aesthetic that is characteristic of Japan” but also recognize that true beauty will always be found within themselves. There are currently nine pieces in this visually stunning series.
