Meet Yaemi Matias: Artist, Photographer, Film Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yaemi Matias and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yaemi, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My work life balance has been a journey! It definitely takes time to find a good flow when there is so many changes that can happen but lately I have been finding a better pattern. In the beginning, I was more so separating work and life when my work and life are actually integrated. Once I started realizing that, it become easier to manage my day to day. I think it’s important to create a life where you enjoy every part of it and add pieces of joy into every area whether its work, family, school etc so that way it can be easier. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a Dominican-American artist based out of South Florida & NYC working as a photographer and film maker using analog mediums such as 35mm, medium format, VHS video. With my visual pieces, I focus on telling the stories of POC and embracing our beauty and culture. Working on personal art projects and commissioned work, I’m inspired by the dreamy, feminine and analog details and uses that in my imagery to create a mystical distinctive look. To overcome any challenges is simply to never give up and want it bad enough that you keep going. There will always be obstacles no matter what part of your career you are in so finding my purpose with my art from the beginning was important because it serves as a reminder whenever I feel doubt or hardships. To makes mistakes, fail but always get back up is the biggest thing I’ve learned. During those hard times I really had to turn to myself and that helped me evolve as a person and an artist. Constantly growing spiritually has been a major part of the work that I create because it is helped heal me and that is what I strive to do with my imagery.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely take them to all the nature spots, from South Florida like in Miami, Coral Gables, Homestead to Central/North Florida like Orlando. On the road heading north, we will stop at the vegan spots that we barely will indulge in since home is in Miami. While in Miami, there are many vegan places to try and things to do aside from the nature/the beach. Checking out museums and street art in Wynwood is always a vibe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wow, this is beautiful. There are sooo many that deserve their credit in supporting me! My close friends and family, my partner and everyone that I have connected with via social platforms like IG. Without that love, it would’ve been way harder for me to keep going!

Website: yaemimatias.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yaemimatias/

Image Credits
image 00001665 and 0000235600 by @luciano_antonino image 16, 65a898, _6386 by @radiantsun9