I’m a beautiful woman named Ia.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
When I was a baby, my mother named me “Ia.”
My sister named me Iba, and I named my younger brother Ib.
But my family has since moved to New Jersey.
I was born in a hospital, so I don’t have a family name.
I’m currently working as a beautician and have my own beauty products.
I got to know Iba through her beautiful eyes, and when I first saw her face, I was overwhelmed by the way she looked.
I saw her in person, and she had the most beautiful eyes.
I wanted to capture that beauty in pictures.
At a time when women’s bodies are still largely viewed through the lens of beauty and beauty-related social media posts, I thought it would be a fun way to show off my beauty.
For me, the idea for Iba came from seeing how much I loved her hair.
I thought if I could just get her to put it up, I’d get her a wig.
In our family, I always had her hair in the back of my hand, and in the picture I made, it was the back and forth of my fingers.
When my brother came to visit, we sat together on a couch, and he was just looking at me and saying, “I’m jealous of you.
You’re so beautiful.”
I just want to show girls that they can be themselves.
My favorite part of the project was getting to meet Iba in person.
I didn’t know her well, but I had a lot of respect for her.
It was such a natural progression for me.
“You look so beautiful,” I said to Iba.
“How can I help you?”
I looked at the wig on her head.
It was a black wig, which I thought was really beautiful.
She was a very strong girl, and the idea of seeing her in the flesh really moved me.
I think she really did have this great sense of self.
I had this big heart for her and she loved me.
