Project Mojo
Aundre Larrow gives Sarai Garcia the guidance – and crucially, the space – to unlock her full potential
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/60 sec at F3.6, ISO 640
Many people dream of becoming a full-time creative. Who wouldn’t want to make a living out of honing their craft? It sounds like a wonderful arrangement, but the realities of the lifestyle aren’t always so peachy – especially for those in the process of establishing themselves.
“You’ll be taking huge, huge swings. You’ll use the $800 you’ve saved up to try and make something beautiful in the hope someone will see it – just to try and do something other than run around photographing parties and taking headshots,” explains Aundre Larrow, a commercial lifestyle and editorial photographer based in Brooklyn.
As an experienced professional, Aundre recognizes how stifling being squeezed by a hand-to-mouth existence can be. “It’s like going to the supermarket and shopping while you’re hungry,” he asserts. “You can put a lot of undue pressure on yourself, which can be stressful. As we lose the luxury of time, we also lose the opportunity to be dynamically creative.”
Wanting to give something back to his local image-making community, Aundre partnered with Fujifilm to put on an internship program. One up-and-coming creative would spend three months assisting and learning from Aundre, and at the end, would be given the opportunity to create a photo project. They would receive not only mentorship and experience, but also a break from the daily grind and the space to create something uniquely their own.
Browsing his phone book in search of the perfect mentee, Aundre remembered a photographer and set designer he’d worked with on a couple of occasions. “I was doing a short film project in 2021,” he recalls, “and my DOP recommended that someone called Sarai Garcia build us a set. She came and I watched her take some pieces of fabric and a few items, and build three distinct sets in one day – very quickly. I was impressed not just with her vision, but her ability to adapt.”
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/60 sec at F3.6, ISO 640
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F4, ISO 800
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F4, ISO 800
En route to a meeting about the internship program, a chance encounter cemented in Aundre’s head a desire to continue working with this young creative. “What’s funny is, on our way to lunch, guess who we ran into on the street? Sarai. So, she was right at the front of my mind, and I brought it up to her immediately afterwards.”
Intrigued by the opportunity, Sarai agreed to spend the next three months learning from and working alongside Aundre.
“I would characterize myself as a joy- and color-focused artist,” describes Sarai, a Queens-based creative. “I’m big on making people feel seen and celebrated, and try not to take things so seriously, especially in a world where everything is hard and serious. It’s important to loosen up, take a deep breath, and just be.
“I started photography about six years ago, initially wanting to be a stylist. Again, it was just about being colorful and making people feel good about themselves. And through styling, I ended up becoming a photographer with a focus on the set, building a mood, and especially how lighting can affect that.”
Now at the end of the three-month program, Sarai and Aundre can reflect on their time working with each other.
“It’s been great, although there was a lot of information to take in at once,” Sarai enthuses. “Before this program, I had a loose idea of what it was like to run a business and get my work out there. But working with Aundre, I’ve learned much more about the details.
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/160 sec at F2.8, ISO 640
“We started off with my list of things that would help, breaking it down as tasks throughout the month, and we would knock them out one by one to get me ready to come out and start working independently again.”
Sarai wasn’t the only who discovered a steep learning curve once the program started. “Going in, I had to understand that Sarai and I are motivated by different things,” recalls Aundre. “In our first month, I was trying to set things up in a way that made sense for a younger me, but that wasn’t super helpful.
“As we progressed, I got to learn more about her, seeing her work and how she makes it. But more importantly, I grew to understand the root of what motivates her because it’s different for all of us as artists. It was an interesting challenge.”
The apprenticeship culminated in Sarai creating her own photography project. But before she could get started on it, Aundre wanted to her to have an authentic experience of pitching ideas.
“I made Sarai present it to me like I was her client,” remarks Aundre. “She had to give us a presentation and we’d ask questions. We even had a couple of friends sit in to offer a range of feedback.
“The hope was for her to get used to saying: ‘This is what I intend to do. This is my process; this is my plan.’ And you can know full well that it’s not going to go exactly like that. But often with clients – you’re not trying to be a snake-oil salesman, or overly optimistic – you’re trying to establish a plan you can come back to as the project progresses.”
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/160 sec at F2.8, ISO 640
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/125 sec at F3.6, ISO 640
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/125 sec at F3.6, ISO 640
The plan Sarai ended up formulating – named Project Mojo – encapsulated her signature combination of color and playfulness, drawing inspiration from an unlikely source.
“Within that first month, I nailed down this idea. It came from my favorite movie ever: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It’s a silly movie, yes, but what I love about it is its color, joy, and commitment to being ridiculous. This has deep meaning for me.
“Humor has always been a way for me to digest uncomfortable feelings – and this is the best movie for that. Austin Powers goes on a journey to retrieve his mojo, only to realize it was never gone, it was always within.
“I’ve experienced that several times – you catch yourself in a funk and try things that are out of character to get back to yourself. Once you are, it’s like, ‘Oh, I didn’t have to do any of that. I was always here – I was always that girl.’
“In my case, with this project, I showed that with changing your hair, changing your style, trying physical activities, turning to spirituality. So Austin Powers went on his journey, and my character in my story went on her own – which is really my journey.
“Where I come from, I don’t ever have the room to explore these ideas. The decision I make is going to cost me something. So I don’t have the room to explore anything fun, or that I would like to make from my own experiences.
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F2.8, ISO 800
“I learned a lot about how to speak about my project, how to get people excited about what I want to create. Here, I have this Austin Powers-inspired project. Since the movie is so silly, I worried people would see the project as silly as well, and ask: ‘Well, why does it need to be told? Why is the story important?’ Finding a way to talk about it in a thoughtful way and to be taken seriously was something new for me.”
Returning to his earlier analogy, Aundre explains what he hoped Sarai would get out of completing Project Mojo in his curated environment. “I wanted it to be more like shopping at the grocery store with a slightly fuller stomach. It’s nice to be able to get paid, get some new equipment, and have time to try stuff.
“The goal is never to become perfect. It’s to try and give you that little bit of time to say, ‘What you’re thinking is valuable enough, you can stay at it for a moment.’”
With room to breathe, Sarai has conducted an examination of the way she wants to create. “I’ve learned to slow down – I get a little excited,” she explains. “I’ve learned to be more thoughtful. To make more intentional work, but still leave room for happy accidents.
“Before, I would stick rigidly to the plan because I felt I couldn’t afford to fail, coming from where I’m from. I wouldn’t leave room for happy accidents because of the pressure. But there’s so much magic that happens in that space. So, slowing down and leaving that room has been a huge thing for me.”
See more of Aundre and Sarai’s work at their websites. To learn more about the gear Sarai used to create Project Mojo, visit FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR.
Photo 2024 © Sarai Garcia | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F2.8, ISO 800
Aundre Larrow
Born in Jamaica and based in Brooklyn, New York, Aundre Larrow is a commercial lifestyle and editorial photographer who creates images depicting honesty and intimacy.
Sarai Garcia
Sarai Garcia is a Dominican-American set designer and photographer based in Queens, New York. Her attention to detail and vibrant use of color accentuates the personality of her subjects.
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