Shades of Blackness Volume 4: “Do you Really See Me?”

16"x20" Lenticular Print

Shades of Blackness Volume 4, "Do you Really See Me?" is a continuation of my photographic series investigating how we as Black people see ourselves. 

I've always used flowers as a medium to engage and draw people in; they are an alluring tool of beauty. In recent years, I began incorporating photography into my art practice for its ability to communicate with the viewer in a more accessible and universal way. Historically, the black body has been portrayed as dangerous or less than. By combining my floral work and portrait photography I hope to encourage a new way of seeing our bodies; to show us as gentle, regal, sensual, elevated. 

For this edition, I chose to work with a lenticular printer.  The format has the ability to add dimension, texture and angles to a 2D object. My subjects are fixed but within the lenticular format, there is constant movement and evolution happening in real time. Rather than presenting you with a beautiful image you can quickly move on from, there is more of an opportunity to spend time with the moving subject and come away with fewer answers. 

Thank you to my models Reece Ford and Arinze Iwudyke for sharing their energy, their beauty, and their honesty with the world and to the beautiful community that surrounds me and continues to inspire me.