Primo, Photographer
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
My name is Primo Bolo III and I’m a fashion photographer. I’m 29 years old and I’ve been living in NYC since 2010 but I’m originally from Lānaʻi, Hawai’i.
Would you say covid has deeply impacted you even more than others because you are AAPI?
More recently, we’ve been seeing the effects of 45’s racist rhetoric escalating to violent attacks on the AAPI community across the country. Lānaʻi is almost entirely AAPI and this kind of racism that we’re seeing today didn’t feel present growing up on my island like it is for a lot of AAPI individuals in other states. After this year, I’m now realizing how white supremacy has always existed systemically in Hawai’i since the moment of colonization and how it’s really affected the perception and values of all the POC locals, including myself for a long time. Now that my awareness of racial and social injustice has heightened, it’s been incredibly difficult to process all of this information and ignore it because it really is at the root of the social and financial disparities in Hawai’i.
A lot of locals back home are really living in a world of scarcity and they’re spending every single day just trying to survive. It’s the biggest misconception people in the states have of Hawai'i residents. On set, people always ask me “Why did you leave Hawai'i? It’s so nice there!” and although it is, I always have to stress the reality of what it’s like for us locals. The truth is, there isn’t a lot of money or opportunity in Hawai’i. The hospitality industry that drives our economy is centered on putting their guests first before residents. As a result, investmenting in much needed resources for our local community just doesn’t happen in the way we need it too and this leaves a lot of the residents disengaged when progress doesn’t happen. This really echoes all of the issues that have come to light since covid. I’ve been really doing my best to spread awareness and engage in meaningful conversations with other AAPI locals so that we can figure out the best way for our community back home to get engaged and activated so we can move forward towards empowerment and inact meaningful change like we have in the past.
75 years ago during “The Great Hawai’i Sugar Strike of 1946” it was the first time the multi-ethnic workforce organized and challenged the sugar plantations that controlled Hawai'i. They addressed the social and political problems at the time by crossing cultural lines and coming together to unionize against an industry that enacted racial division amongst its workers to maintain power. To me, this is the same energy we need now: Unity and Activism.
How did this sourdough bread making come about? I know it was a trending hobby in the beginning of the lockdown, but you seem to be one of the very few that's still sticking to it!?
Sourdough has always been something that piqued my interest but I was very intimidated by it at first and just didn’t know where to start. A month before the lockdown, I met another baker on set who was kind enough to share some starter with me. She walked me through each step of the dough making process and shared her recipe. On my first attempt, we made our dough simultaneously and we sent each other photos and videos during each step so that I could visually see how to handle the dough as it changed over time. Her patience really enabled me to get comfortable with the process and doing it together really eliminated all of the doubt. I’m so grateful and from that point on it became an obsession.
Fast forward a year and I’ve really found so much of my joy in sourdough. There’s a lot of beauty in it and the timing aspect really forces me to take things slow which was such a contrast to my life before lockdown--especially in our industry. It’s been very therapeutic for me and for a lot of people watching my bread stories on instagram. This past January, I finally decided to create an instagram account dedicated to my bread and it has been such a fun avenue for creation. It really highlights my scoring abilities and bread designs which are inspired by my experiences growing up in Hawai'i. Home has been such a bountiful and authentic source of inspiration for me and it’s really allowed me to reconnect with my roots though my bread. It’s elevated the beauty and process of my sourdough for me and it feels like it’s become a love letter to Lānaʻi. I’m really proud of it and I really love sharing it with everyone.
What would you say was the hardest struggle for you during this pandemic?
I think my mental headspace has really been challenged throughout the pandemic. Previously, my disposition was very much coming from a glass half full perspective but since last summer I’ve been put in a position where I was forced to confront a lot of feelings and emotions I never noticed before. Like I mentioned before, the pandemic has brought about a new level of awareness and consciousness surrounding systemic racism, social injustice and inequality, and even privilege that I can’t unsee. I spent a lot of time looking inward and I’ve dedicated a lot of energy into understanding my emotions more.
I’m also noticing and protecting my joy and that has really helped me recenter during all of this uncertainty and craziness.
How has working on-set in the fashion industry changed for you?
The racial disparities and the need for accountability within our industry are very much at the forefront of everyone's mind. In the past, I always felt like we never had the space to explore these topics in conversation on such a larger scale but now it’s almost impossible to not discuss what’s going on in an honest way. I’ve had the opportunity to really engage in these conversations with models, stylists and other colleagues on set more recently. I think these conversations lend to unity, growth, and connection. It’s so easy to feel like a machine doing what we do because there's such a push for the bottom line. But I think taking the time to speak on these issues and share how our own experiences really introduces a bit of humanity into our space. For me, it acts as a moral compass for how we choose to treat others while we navigate our careers and boundaries going forward.
Post Covid, where would be your dream place to travel to?
Although it would be amazing to travel anywhere in the world, I have been dreaming a lot about being back in Hawai’i. It’s been such a long time since I’ve been home and I really want to take a moment to reconnect with the mountains, the ocean and all the locals on a personal level again. During the lockdown, all the locals got to experience home in such a special way. For the first time, there were no tourists and everyone felt like the environment had a moment to reset. I really wish I had the opportunity to experience home in that way.
