EARLY FALL 2015
Brainstorm/Planning
Alexis: "You need a common theme."
Me: "Uh... I don't know... The majority of them are black guys. Can I just do a project about following black men?"
Alexis: "Ennis you probably shouldn't say that."
Why not?
Questioning myself a lot. Is it really faux pas if I focus on black people?
Lauren (coworker) is helping me design! We’ve started the visual branding. Logo done. Simple website with all basic information also up for tentative participants. I’m going to publish a hard cover coffee table book with the best photos in the end.
To preface, I knew nothing about Hip-Hop prior to Realest. [Refer to Timeline of Cultural Discoveries and other aspects of Researcher Bias.] I met Sebastian at a Ty$ event a few weeks prior. He wasn't exactly Hip-Hop, more R&B, but he was the first person who let me follow him around for a day hours.
The concept of "fast friends" became pretty second nature after securing a couple shoots under my belt. I began chasing people down via internet and through friends of friends, participants, coworkers etc. What a time. Hoarded every penny for film and flights living off bodega coffee, office leftovers and naps instead of meals. Cigarettes were both dessert and a great appetite suppressant.
Initially I had planned on using the early sessions for demonstration purposes only but throughout writing the 2nd edition I realized these people were just as much a part of Realest. Hence first few sessions are not a full 24 hours.
Hardcover book concept mockup
WINTER 2015/2016
Book Design Revisions
As the project progressed I saw a flaw in the execution. One or two photos would never do 24 hours with someone justice. I wanted to show the full day from beginning to end. The coffee table idea was revised. It was now a hybrid of coffee table book and quarterly magazine. A softcover called "524" because each issue was going to feature 5 People, narrating their full 24 hours. The early cover of 524 Vol 1.1 was a photo of Chuck Inglish and his girlfriend Amanda kissing when the ball dropped on New Years 2016.
By early 2016 I completed just over half the final photo participant count. I took this prototype everywhere. Tactile is always more captivating than digital mockups. You never saw me without it.
[right photo]
Me by Eduardo Whittington
APRIL 2016
Inadvertent Conclusion to Photo-Ethnographic Fieldwork,
Frank 151 Article
Not intentional at this point but efforts were already being shifted to finalize Vol 1.1 and delve into marketing. Still toting around my first draft, I shot with the last 7 participants in April including Stephen Malbon, founder of the longtime publication Frank151. He kindly had a staff member interview me at the end of our session and publish the first article about this project. Unfortunately the link has been disabled since their website's revamp around 2017/18. Visited Chuck in LA too. We grabbed a meal with some of his friends.
Chuck spitting out food too hot lol
Polaroid by Ralph Lorenzo
MAY 23, 2016
QuietLunch Article
“From an industry built on parading lifestyles of the rich and the famous, Realest is a breath of fresh air...it completely strips away this facade, giving way to a much more authentic portrayal on life. “Some artists come off as one thing in the media. They look like they’re living in some big mansion with plush pillows and art work all over the walls but that’s not the case at all,” says Ennis. Maybe Ennis can’t change the way some people currently perceive the industry, but she can most definitely use her photography to uncover the realness within, shifting a perception of success from showing off to showing love.”
Hip Hop Gets Real with Ennis Chung
SUMMER 2016
Marketing
Felt I had enough content to last several issues. I wanted to print the first around fall/winter. Next step was to start raising awareness, leading up to an online crowd-funding campaign. Made a teaser zine called Vol 0 and gave them out at my first event ever.
Photos by Matt Swinksy
Original video recap by God is Dope
Remixed edit Ennis
The day party was a huge success. The beer (from Justin) ran out just as the AC gave up. Everyone spilled out onto the streets. Jae said a lot of local influencers were there. He was my first manager.
I still can't believe this happened, let alone so seamlessly. There was no budget. Once again paid out of pocket but everyone from event coordinators, PR, guest dj's, sponsors and special attendees were people I had met through Realest who gave their support voluntarily! In awe. Extremely grateful for people who believe in me. People who believe in the power of good energy. Hip-Hop is more than a musical genre, it's a celebration of community.
JUNE 3, 2016
Turnt Down Mag Article
I’m fucking blown away from how insightful Darrin is! First time I feel like he sees my big picture even though I didn’t give him every detail.
My favorite write up of Realest. I was so sad when his website went down. Here’s a link to the archived version. What would I do without Wayback Machine?
“Be prepared to add Ennis Chung’s name to the long list of women in hip hop culture who have become respected and renowned for their own creative spirit.
In an era where throwing around the phrase “culture vulture” has become second nature, it’s comforting to see someone whose involvement in hip hop is ultimately forged by a sincere interest in its culture and genuine intent above all.”
Ennis Chung’s vision is as real as they come.
JUNE 13, 2016
DigitalRev Article
“The Realest project reflects on an incredibly simple but undeniable fact. When we let others into the little, seemingly ordinary moments of our lives, that glimpse will change our existing preconceptions. No moment exemplifies this more than when Chung affectionately remembers how the people who’d previously been daunted by the prospect of spending 24 hours in her company changed their point of view; “Afterwards, a lot people were like, 'Aw man, it’s over already? Stay for 48!' And to me that’s been a huge honour.”
Day 'N' Night: 24-Hour Hip-Hop Studies
SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
Lomography Article
It was a busy summer. I tried to coordinate a larger scale event in LA but things didn't work out. Also started a new job at a which was hectic. Franny, one of my new co-workers wrote an article for Lomography to accompany the photos I had taken earlier in the year at SXSW. Saved a quote but the article seems to have been deleted.
“I’m completely myself.”
From anyone else the statement would come across as contrived, but over a steaming basket of naan, mouth full of lamb vindaloo, Ennis Chung couldn’t be more real. Ennis, like tennis, exudes a powerful energy that is hard to put your finger on. Excessively cool, yet extremely approachable, she conducts herself with a candor that is shockingly refreshing paired with an intense work ethic that seems counter to her super chill vibes. The photographer and graphic designer by trade, is the founder of Realest, an ethnographic photo journal that follows people in the hip-hop industry for 24-hours. Like most great things, Realest was less a stroke of genius, but rather the inevitable conclusion of an artist finding her niche in a robust and widely misconstrued community. Birthed out of Ennis’s burgeoning love for the hip-hop world and passion for photography came Realest, an attempt to capture the raw reality of some of the most influential and misunderstood creative minds of our time.”
SEPTEMBER 2016
524 Renamed Realest,
Kickstarter Campaign,
The 5th Element Article
Changed the title of the book from 524 to Realest to simplify and launched a Kickstarter campaign with the help of NickyChulo. We spent a lot of late nights working at the office, eating take out, smoking cigarettes leading up to the launch. Felt like I was back in college. The Kickstarter failed but silver lining: it was good marketing.
"So you're not black?"
Me: "No."
"But you're doing a project about black people..."
Me: "Yes."
A constant reminder of the racial climate we live in. I’m only motivated to pursue Realest harder now.
“Ennis like tennis, a five-foot Canadian photographer trying to make life and art happen in NY. Living unapologetically and spreading positivity.”
The Realest Project
WINTER / SPRING 2017
Realest Volume 1.1 Printed!
Did a quick giveaway as a thank you for all the support.
APRIL 2017
Mass Appeal Article,
& Realest in NY
“Hip hop was the theme that tied it all together, but it became more of an ethnographic study for her. She’s not trying to be a party photographer, she wants to make a difference.”
Hey; you're cool!
MAY 2017
Guerrilla Exhibition
That’s me. I think Faisal took this on my camera.
Special thanks to YGB for helping design, build and produce the lightbox structures, to ATTNWH0RE for couch-djing, and everyone who made the long-ass trek from Manhattan to Flatbush, ate pizza on a floor and turned off the lights on your way out. (We passed out from exhaustion). Y'all are real ones.
