“Subconsciously, the underlying messages in my work have always been a product of an industry that I often didn’t feel seen in. I wanted to create a book that encapsulated finally feeling content in myself, knowing that if I don’t see myself in certain areas, I can create those spaces. I got into photography off a book off the shelf, so I hope that there’ll be a little me somewhere picking up this book and understanding that we’re all beautiful.
“The same thing I was saying when graduating six years ago. Yes, in front of the camera is beautiful, it’s great to have representation in imagery. But it’s often myself alone in the room where the money moves are made. All the social activism around 2020 almost made me forget my last five years, because I was like, oh, cool, people wanna do stuff. No, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Some people mean it, but you need to have more diversity where the decisions are being made.
“The fact that I’m able to have a book is still beyond me – it was never a goal in my head because I hadn’t seen it, so there are areas that I can’t even think of that I know people like me should be in. It’d be nice to know the head of a hedge fund company is a Black person we’ve never seen before. It’s very rare to go somewhere in a very visual industry as a minority and not know who the other minorities will be.
For many of your Black subjects, you were one of the first Black photographers they’d been shot by. What does that feel like for you? “It’s hard because as a creator, I don’t know if I truly enjoy my accolades. I feel like, if this were a chessboard of life, I’m not necessarily a pawn, and not a king or a queen, but a transitional piece… almost [as though] me and my peers [are] here to move a generation, so I’m okay with being the first person in that respect. I will not use it as an advantage, I’ll use it to create a conversation.
CampbellAddy Really nice article about your work. Congrats on the book launch!