photo essay #1 [soon]
BOYS
6x7 Black and White Medium Format Film, Nashville
Portraits of my nephews being
bathed, groomed, and dressed
by my sister, their mother.
This scene adds the
intimate setting of home and
early childhood.
Portraits of Brother
In Tennessee, I photographed a series of portraits of my younger brother. Growing up, I'd spend long summer days in the southern heat with my older siblings. As I grew older, this temporal space of tenderness and intimacy in my immediate community began to change. These portraits display the fleeting sense of freedom and play in the black youth experience.
The present-day situation of climate posing a threat to current and future generations, along with the lack of critical race theory education, I'm inspired to create work that urges reflection on our sentimental connection to memories of home, freedom, and play.
a courthouse wedding
Nashville
American Mends
Scan of 7x7 Polaroid, SX-70
On Christmas of 2020, a bomb detonated in a Van
place in Downtown Nashville, near the AT&T building
(known as the Batman Building by Nashvillians). This
blew out many windows of buildings on 2nd Avenue.
Conspiracy grew about the issue of 5g and overall dis-
trust of the government and companies.
I attended high school downtown in a period of rapid
change. Old buildings were being torn down, and new
ones were appearing. The city was changing, and I was
changing along with it. On a walk, I noticed an
American flag was hung over the construction site.
Scan of 7x7 Polaroid, SX-70
On Christmas of 2020, a bomb detonated in a Van
place in Downtown Nashville, near the AT&T building
(known as the Batman Building by Nashvillians). This
blew out many windows of buildings on 2nd Avenue.
Conspiracy grew about the issue of 5g and overall dis-
trust of the government and companies.
I attended high school downtown in a period of rapid
change. Old buildings were being torn down, and new
ones were appearing. The city was changing, and I was
changing along with it. On a walk, I noticed an
American flag was hung over the construction site.
Chicago
Digital scan of 35mm film
Growing up, I spent a lot of time
with my grandparents in South Side
Chicago. I wasn't allowed to go downtown
until I was 16 and with my uncles. After the
3rd time I experienced downtown, I became
interested in how black people interact with
the landscape of Chicago, and the landscape
of nationalism in the city alone.
Scan of 35mm Film
In the 1960s, my maternal grandmother's and grandfather's families both migrated to the south side of Chicago on the same street, around 130th. My grandfather came from Memphis, where his family left the reserves for an ‘American' life. My grandmother came from Alabama, where she was raised on a farm ran by her white grandfather and black grandmother. As they share stories from these pockets of America and how their past and memories are reflected in my image or mannerisms, I think about my access to these memories. I pay close attention to the objects kept around the house that hold them. I lingered in the backyard as a child, where the grass was always cared for, and my grandmother would grow plants and bushes. As I looked around, I noticed the neighbor's backyards covered in concrete, with abandoned cars, space is forgotten. These images are part of a series that began in 2016 about how my grandparents use their backyard as a time capsule.