Yin Yang Series: Mimo

Digital Photography & Interview by Kelsy Osterman, 2020 – Ongoing.

This portrait project is an ode to people and celebrating the incredible shades of grey that make them special and complex. Yin Yang, is an ongoing series, where I cut and style my subject’s hair based off of the energy I receive from them after an initial conversation. I like to start portrait sessions this way: by setting the tone with intention and asking my subjects a series of questions to get us vibrating on the same plane. The photographs are the outcome of our shared time together and celebrate, on many levels, our connection to the present moment and exploration of our inner space and ideals.

My subject for this series was Miryam “Mimo” Magri, a dear friend. Mimo is an extraordinary and beautiful human with a wide array of talents that she very kindly shares with the world. A musician, actress, and cosmic guide, she is a true inspiration… She also happens to have GREAT HAIR.

We use opposing pillars to create definition, to differentiate and divide because that’s simply the way we’ve been conditioned. We categorize as a way of making things fit. As a way of maintaining some semblance of control. But in this way of being, what we lose is the magic of the in-between. The shapelessness that is essential to wholeness itself.

This portrait story and conversation arose out of my wanting to better understand and celebrate that space in the middle. In a world that compulsively seeks to categorize, my goal was to share intimate moments that offer kaleidoscopic windows into the inner-landscapes of each of my subjects. I wanted to create a series that moved through the idea of what it means to live in your skin, to work with what has been given to us in this lifetime on physical and soul levels. I wanted to draw focus to the dance of masculine and feminine within us all. 

Yin and Yang are two halves that together, create wholeness. They are also the starting point for change. When something is whole, it is by definition unchanging and complete. Splitting something into halves — yin | yang — upsets the equilibrium of wholeness. Both halves chase after each other as they seek a new balance. There’s a movement that happens, and I see this movement through the medium of hair. It allows us to shift freely on the spectrum of gender and identity. It allows us to know ourselves more deeply and this knowledge—the knowledge of who we are, is one of our greatest powers. 

In Conversation

With Mimo

What is your relationship to the ideals of Yin/Yang?

Everything is cyclical for me. I love to play and channel these energies when I need them the most. At times, I will dive into my sacred feminine flow to seek forgiveness and kindness. In other situations, I need my armor and Yang warrior shield. I make them work for me.

What traits do you attribute to each of these energies? 

Yin [is] flow, water, innerself/innerside, warmth, secrecy, sacredness, motherhood, womaninity, strength, resilience, patience, East and West, blue and purple colors.

Yang [is] shockwave, fire, outer self, public persona, wrath, loudness, speaking up, oration, fatherhood, manhood, strength, honor, go getter, drive, North and South, red, orange and yellow colors.

How much femininity/masculinity do you feel inside? 

The biggest feminine trait [for me] is the idea of strength and being able to literally bear pain—physical, emotional, mental. Not that women are defined by that, but it’s something so common in women. This idea of bearing pain and still being able to carry on, and be the spine of society. I could say my introspective side and my ability to feel vulnerability, are feminine. But in this day and age, those attributes are also masculine. It’s all very fluid. But yes, I think the feminine to me is the strength of being yourself.   

For my masculinity, I’ve felt that it was always something present in me, even more so now that I’m aware of it and acknowledge it. Again, the definitions of these energies aren’t hermetic for me, they range between different degrees and take on many forms on the spectrum. I feel that my masculinity level is high because I’m often referred to as androgynous, bold, and carrying a “warrior-like energy.” Attraction could also be included in the equation as I desire women as much as I desire men.

We talk about this “yin”-knowing yourself inside and spending time inside of yourself is your power. Knowing yourself in these deep ways. It’s interesting, being in a relationship with a woman and being in a relationship with a man—I know that we can be put into bodies that we do not connect with. But I almost think it is also a hormonal exchange. I think those hormones shift so much with brain chemistry and things like that. But there is a difference in the chemical makeup and through generations of women having to survive, of course. But, I do think this “yin” place of internal discovery is sort of that feminine power. Which I think can set women apart from men in certain ways because we have all of this generational internal strength. It’s a different path of expression over the course of thousands of years. 

I think with the concept of how we identify ourselves—it’s something that’s very recent in the history of mankind. But if you go back to biology, the female body and its function—what it’s supposed to do is carry a baby. With the evolution of the body, the idea that women keep this inner space is something that is very powerful. 

How much femininity and masculinity do you show the world?

I feel very much like I’ve learned to harness those influences and energies. I would say that I try to honor them as they come, and however they come. Some days, I strongly want to dress more tomboyish, no makeup,  in touch more with that Yang driving force. Other days, I like to feel sexy and own the curves and woman attributes of my body. I guess it’s really a question of feeling. 

How does your feminine/masculine side show itself in you?

I was often told that I have a very androgynous energy. [I was] a complete tomboy as a kid [and feel I only] just recently grew into my femininity. For most of my life, I related more with my Yang energy. Emotionally, as well, I grew up dealing with a lot of anger issues and being combative with pretty much everything and everyone.  Inner work has brought me in touch with my Yin side. Through it, I welcomed understanding, emotional intelligence, and a much needed softer side into my power. I can now say I’m fully comfortable juggling both sides and I recognize these dualities in me, though I sit in my womanhood and identify as a woman.