A narrative, written by Neha Kaur Singh.
I never saw anyone who looked like me and so I wondered, can I do this?
TV screens and magazines were so much more than just entertainment to me. The women I saw - I consumed the energy they portrayed. I didn’t want to just meet them, I wanted to be them. The problem is, I never saw anyone who looked like me and so I wondered, can I do this? Is there space for girls who look like me? Then I realized if there is no space then I will demand it. I will make such an impact that they will have no choice but to say to themselves, “who is she? She’s what we’ve been missing this whole time.”
From product to creator.
My first two years of modeling I went to every single agency in Los Angeles and participated in their open calls. During this time I began building connections on Instagram and through the nightlife scene. Night and day I messaged, connected, and worked with photographers to build up my portfolio as a freelance model. I was lucky that so many photographers were willing to work with me for free. Every single one of them had the same reasoning- “I love your look, I haven’t seen anyone like you.” While I was doing freelance I had to become a one woman show. I had a photographer but I was the stylist, makeup artist, and creative director. These are crafts I never imagined myself doing because I always assumed I would have a team. After hearing no from every agency in LA for a year and a half I decided I needed to revamp my entire portfolio. I shifted my focus from drawing inspiration from other model’s books to creating whatever the heck I wanted. I stopped asking myself, “what do they want to see?” and started telling myself, “what do they need to see?.” I began to birth images that were truly from the depths of my soul. I produced things that made people feel something. My goal wasn't to be pretty, everyone is pretty, my goal was to be electric. I was able to tap into this by playing into my alter ego, Electraa.
If I’m Neha and you don't love me, screw it I’ll be Electraa.
I created Electraa to be the badass version of myself. The girl who would make jaws drop and hearts spike simply with a glance. She is everything I felt Neha needed as a partner and co-creator. The two sides of me dance in the shadow of the other; when I model Electraa takes over but when I write poetry Neha is the creator.
Poetry is my therapy.
My birth name is Neha, which means “love” in Hindi. This name truly embodies my natural state of being. This childlike love, wonder, desire for vulnerability, and raw emotion fuels the fire in me. Connection on an emotional and spiritual level is something that I always chased after consciously and subconsciously; when I began writing I never thought my words would be able to help produce this connection with strangers.
I started writing poetry when I was 15 years old as a form of therapy. Writing made everything easier. It allowed me to communicate the things I could not speak. In addition to writingI also wrote spoken word. This was the ultimate form of poetry to me. The way my words were spoken to a tempo to tell a melodic story…there was nothing more beautiful to me. During the pandemic I published my first poetry book. It told the story of me and a love I thought would last forever. I took my favorite excerpts from this book and made them into a spoken word with visual art. At the time I used real footage of us along with videos I took from experiences we shared. I always had a vision to recreate our love story in a more seamless way. The recording was inspired by the idea ofI imagining myself driving late at night through the rain and leaving a voice memo for my lover. The video I directed below is everything I envisioned to tell our story.
Fashion Team:
Produced by: Neha Kaur Singh
Creative directed by: Neha Kaur Singh
Fashion film directed by: Sally and Franz Steiner
Director of photography: Jordan Der Weyden
Creative Consultant: Maxine Goynes
Stylist: Mariah Jackson
Makeup Artist: Mitri Sousou
Hair stylist: Yuma Bastet
Photographed at: Optimist Studios LA
Showrooms :
Etcetera Los Angeles
CLD PR
Short Film Team:
Short film shot by: Christina
Co-staring: Jacob Bruck