Nikki S. Lee conveys her messages through the positioning of the people in her photographs. The look on the people’s faces, their posture, and their positions shape the attitude of the pictures. For example, In The Ohio Project, the two people are slouched down in their seats, and they both have “I don’t care” looks on their faces. The combination of their posture and expressions makes the viewer look down on the people. It causes the viewer to put a “redneck” label on them at first sight. The positioning of the people in The Hispanic Project really jumps out at the viewer. The woman is in a provocative position, and one of the men is helping her to hold that position. It makes the viewer look at them as being trashy, and again we place a label on them.
Inferences can be drawn from each of Lee’s photographs. Each photo portrays a type of people that are commonly labeled in a certain way. We look at The Ohio Project, and we see them as rednecks. We first make this inference form the large rebel flag on the wall. The girl is wearing clothes that are too small for her, and her belly is hanging out over her short shorts. Her hair is a bleach blonde color that is obviously fake. The man has a scruffy beard, boots over his pants, and a gun in his hands. These observations make us infer that they are trashy, dirty, and even poor. The woman in The Yuppie Project has a superior look on her face. She is sitting with her legs crossed, her hair is fixed nicely, and she is wearing a nice business suit. These qualities, along with the superior look on her face, make her look like she thinks she is something.
It looks as though all the women in Lee’s work are Asian. Maybe because Lee herself is Asian, she wants to show Asian women in all aspects of the world. I did not notice that the first three women were Asian at first sight because their looks were camouflaged. They do not have the “typical Asian” look. Race does not define how you are supposed to act or who you are supposed to hang out with. You do not have to be a certain color to fit in.


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