Thalía Gochez
never been the camera always been the love
Thalía Gochez is a self taught visual artist living in Los Ángeles, California. As a child of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrant parents, Gochez draws most of her creative inspiration from her upbringing and heritage. Her work aims to highlight identity by honoring and prioritizing the subject’s story through an intentional yet stylized approach. Her photographs are genuine depictions of people of color with an emphasis on women taken in environments that mirror their identity offering space for conversation connection and community building.
“Part of being a great photographer is knowing when to pick up the camera and knowing when to put it down to connect”
Your photographs ooze love - love for self, community, cultural heritage, friendship - and you often use the word love when describing specific images and your process of creating them. How has your own journey with self love evolved and played a part in capturing such authentic images?I always say my art is like a love letter to myself. I strongly believe self-love and higher creativity are interconnected. I fundamentally can’t connect to my creativity and be the artist I am today If I don’t practice a daily form of self-love. Self love can be something as simple as taking a walk around my neighborhood to explore different textures and spaces or picking up a different medium when I don’t feel compelled to take a photograph. Even when I’m not inspired I’m exploring my creative energy. Creativity is a muscle that needs tending to much like our hearts. In the beginning of my artistic journey I was battling a lot of feelings of depression and what kept me afloat and living in the present moment was picking up the camera. My camera has been a sacred tool I’ve used to heal the parts within me that have needed extra care and love. Can you speak to your relationship with film and why you choose to use analog materials for your work?I’m completely self taught. I first started shooting on a cheap $1 minolta film camera that I bought from the flea market. I had no idea what I was doing but I knew what I wanted to say. Film photography was my first introduction to image making. It taught me so much about intentionality, patience, and respect. You have to be intentional because you have a selected amount of exposures, you have to be patient because film cameras weren’t designed to shoot at rapid speed like digital, you have to respect it because it will humble you if you think you are bigger than it like I’ve had my fair share of getting back blank rolls. Film photography is a key part of artistic practice, it’s how I discovered my composition and developed my artistic style.
Pamplemousse has deep ties to and love for San Francisco and you spent many years living and photographing in the city. How did your experience in SF and specifically your time spent capturing the people of the Mission District impact your creative practice? San Francisco will always have a deep and special place in my heart. I started photography and developed it seriously when I was living in San Francisco. I always say it’s where my creativity truly evolved and flourished. Some of my most impactful and meaningful friendships that I am still blessed with today are folks from the Mission. My love and respect for the Mission is unwavering. The people, the businesses, the unique culture and the distinct energy of the community — there is no place like the mission. I’m deeply inspired by this community because I feel deeply connected to them all. A lot of times I felt like I was photographing my actual blood family. My relationship to the folks I’ve photographed didn’t end when the camera turned off. These relationships have left a huge impression on my heart and artistic practice. I cherish every angel who has opened their doors and hearts to my camera and I. 
You clearly have a real talent for connecting with your subjects which leads to some of the most authentic, vulnerable images I’ve ever seen from a contemporary photographer. Do you have any advice for photographers who are looking to improve the way they connect with the people they photograph?I always say your greatest photography tool is to engage in genuine conversation. It’s not about having the latest camera or gadgets. It’s about having a genuine desire to build a friendship beyond making an image. If you want authenticity to show in your imagery you have to let go of your ego and realize a good photograph is just the bonus, building connection and community is far more rewarding and I believe the true nature of this collaborative medium. Can you tell us three things that you absolutely LOVE right now?my camera, my community and my family — now and forever! 
“Don’t ever forget for a second how much of a PRIVILEGE it is to take somebody’s photograph; intimacy can’t be photoshopped, if you want “authenticity” to show in your work, do the work off camera.”
“Film will always have my heart”
Back cover credit:
Photographer: Thalía Gochez @thaliagochez
Creative Direction & Styling: César Alvarez @triste_juventud
Models: Kandrex Millones @kandrexx & Pablo Fer. Simental @nene.pablo
Make Up: Ruth Torres @truthdesign
Hair: Anissa Salazar @anissaemily
Location & Coordination: José wHernández @eseveco
Photo Assistant: Ash Alexander @asalexander.studio
originally published in print in the love issue #9, Summer 2024