Iyla Bhandary-Alexander

Artist Statement

I am a sixteen-year-old artist who uses digital and analog photography to make or break assumptions about the world. My photographs can create realities that haven’t been seen before or defy existing expectations.
    
My work focuses on people’s relationships, light as a physical subject, and an unrelenting pull to nature. My experiences with long-term friendships, my childhood home, and my biracial background heavily influenced me and taught me to closely analyze everyone I perceive. I feel inspired to uncover people’s truth, so I gravitate toward portraiture.

I explore tensions between humans, their environment, and relationships. When I make a photo, I start by picturing my desired outcome. I work with the subject to get a sense of who they are and figure out how they complement their environment. I consider my portraits successful when they relay a mood or emotion that is authentic to the model.

Photography is a way for me to dissect and memorialize impactful moments in life. I appreciate that a photo can reveal a story through a single frame. When I document moments, candid or not, I'm left with not only a memory but also a physical manifestation.

—Iyla Bhandary-Alexander, Engineering and Science University Magnet School ’25

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