By Michael Mondezie

Copyright trinidadexpress

As T&T prepares to mark 49 years as a republic, photographer and creative director Jordan LHR (Jordan Lum Hung) is reflecting on a journey that has become part of the nation’s creative story.

This November, Jordan will mark ten years of collaboration with iconic designer Meiling Esau with TEN, a landmark exhibition at the Central Bank Auditorium. The show will pair Meiling’s garments with Jordan’s photography, presenting a dialogue between two mediums, two women, and a decade of shared vision.

For Jordan, the project, presented under her Perspectivs brand, is about more than an exhibition. It is about identity, legacy, and nationhood.

“It feels like legacy and love for the art form,” she told the Kitcharee Friday. “TEN is something I feel so deeply that I haven’t quite found the words to define it. What I do know is that it represents everything I’ve poured into my practice over the past decade: growth, vision, trust, and the kind of creative bond that shapes you both personally and professionally.”

A chance encounter

The story began in 2014 with what Jordan describes as fate. She was working as a visual merchandiser when Meiling walked into the store.

“She happened to walk in one day, noticed the way I had designed and styled the floor plan, and asked who was behind it. I was there that day, and that chance meeting led to her inviting me to one of her shows. Soon after, she asked me to style and direct a fashion editorial for her,” Jordan recalled.

At the time, she was collaborating with different photographers as a stylist and creative director but felt limited in how far she could take her ideas.

“I felt an urge to capture my vision exactly as I imagined it in my head,” she said. “When I shared this with Meiling, she encouraged me to buy my first camera. That moment marked not only the start of my photography journey but also the beginning of our decade-long relationship.”

Since then, the two women have built a body of work that has defined Meiling’s visual identity over the past ten years. Editorials, campaigns, and shows have become part of an evolving archive of Caribbean fashion. Their process, Jordan explained, is a balance of instinct and planning.

“Sometimes we plan concepts weeks in advance, other times we create and execute within days,” she said. “There’s a very natural flow between us and now, with Izzy, our stylist and model. It’s intuitive but there’s also an underlying structure that keeps the work sharp.”

Meiling’s influence, Jordan admitted, sharpened her own eye and identity.

“My work has always leaned toward moody, with themes of sensuality, playfulness, and elegance, a kind of dreamlike minimalism,” she said. “Through Meiling, I learned how to refine that into something more intentional, less is more. That shaped not only my photography but my artistic identity as a whole.”

It is this fusion of vision and discipline that has made their bond one of the most enduring in Caribbean fashion.

“I hope audiences see the depth and importance of creative bonds. How mentorship, trust, and collaboration can shape not just the work, but the people behind it,” Jordan said. “For me, it is an honour to say I have built something with Meiling that has lasted a decade, and I want audiences to feel that sense of continuity and care.”

Distinctively Trinbagonian

For Jordan, the true victory has not been international recognition but showing that it can be earned without sacrificing identity.

“It is always an honour when the work resonates abroad, but that was never the focus,” she explained. “For me, it’s about creating something I love, rooted in the truth of our vision. If it connects with audiences outside the Caribbean, that’s beautiful, but what matters most is that the stories stay authentic to us.”

Grounding her work in local truth, while still welcoming global audiences, feels like its own Independence statement. It speaks to the power of T&T’s artists to shape narratives, carry cultural identity forward, and remind the world of the creativity born here. Mentoring younger photographers is also part of that responsibility.

“The opportunities and challenges seem to be wrapped into one for me, oversaturation,” she mused. “However, this gives everyone the opportunity to stand out, find their own eye, tell their own stories, work together and build creative teams, and in turn, develop great art together.”

Beyond TEN, Jordan says she intends to keep creating for the love of it.

“Whoever and whatever comes my way is welcomed, as long as there’s alignment in vision,” she said.

Photography will remain her foundation, but she has also been exploring other forms of expression, including her alt-metal band, Fighting with Noise. “For me, it is all part of the same drive: to tell stories, to experiment, to connect, to share The Perpectivs,” she concluded