Once again I have been blessed with the opportunity to bring my friends visions to life! It was a pleasure working on this project with Monet, Coy, Demi, Willy, Jamie and Willy. Moving forward I will be interviewing the producer’s of my shoots to get introspect on what inspired the concept. Peep my interview with Monet below and the interviews she curated with our models.

Name: Monet Maxwell

Age: 29

From/Location: Pittsburg living in Brooklyn

Sign: Libra

Pronouns: She/Her

What inspired the shoot?: honestly I’ve always loved fashion from Elizabethan and Victorian eras. I just thought there was something so flamboyant and powerful about it. I never saw Black people in pictures from that era. Probably because our ancestors were still slaves then. I wanted to create our own images using that fashion as inspiration.

What do you want people to take away from the shoot/questions?: In the work I create I want people to feel the art but also see themselves. That’s why for the most part I use non traditional models, I want people to relate to the subject. I like to tell stories of the subject. We are reflections of each other and are all art. I want to see more people like me in magazines, art galleries, runways, etc. The only way to see change is to be the change. I also knew everyone had their own words/stories to contribute. I want people to look at this project and be inspired, be fearless and share their stories! You never know who’s watching and who may need to hear it.

*Interviews by Monet Maxwell

Name: Coy

Age: 28

Where your from: The Bay Area. More specifically, San Francisco, CA.

What are your pronouns/identify as: Politically I use he/ him pronouns- bc here I am existing in this anatomical make-up (AFAB) while subverting the norm and doing something that I’m “not supposed to be doing”; being on testosterone and altering said anatomical make-up. But I understand my gender as neither and the all. And for me, They/Them best captures my experience of self.

What’s your journey been like a black queer person: The phrase that I would use to best describe my journey as a Black queer person is beautifully tragic. I am constantly becoming. There is always some iteration of self to be celebrated and mourned because nuance. The nuances of what it means to exist as a Black queer person acknowledges ones process as an evolution. And things die during evolution. Understandings of self that have become obsolete via disservice, die, while new and beautiful understandings emerge to further along your anticipated trajectory. Beautifully tragic bc my evolution of self has been dictated by Intersectionality (do yourself a favor and google Kimberle Crenshaw), which at its core saddens me because it illuminates the construction of the Black body versus the state. My journey as a Black queer person has positioned me to have a panopticon gaze on (my) life becauase my intersecting identities requires that of me. Its been lit tho for real for real. Every time I step into a more nuanced version of self I’m elated and reminded that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way? Audre Lorde wrote an essay called “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”. She spoke of the pervasiveness of whiteness as a mentality (i.e. white supremacy, anti- Blackness) and its insidious nature. My interpretation of the point being made in this essay is that as a Black person, these systems of domination and oppression can not be extirpated with the same tools that were used to build, elevate, and maintain. But seeing as my Blackness is the reason for the construction of the masters house and it was most likely Niggas that built that mothafucka, existing authentically and intentionally, while holding self with care and integrity, dismantles the master and the house. My authenticity and intentionality inspires me to continue practicing the revolutionary act called EXISTING unapologetically. Knowing that this act destabilizes the masters house while creating new avenues to understand Blackness as non monolithic inspires me. Knowing that my image of self is a curation of my own deconstructed ideologies inspires me. Knowing that I have the power to live freely and exist in any iteration of self that I deem appropriate inspires me to continue on

What advice would you give to the younger generations? If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: To the younger baby queers and my younger self I would say: the preservation of self via energetic boundaries is a beautiful tool to utilize. And to please never dim your shine for a mothafucka who cant even see theirs.

Name: Demi

Age: 27

Where your from: Charleston, SC 

What are your pronouns/identify as: My pronouns are she/hers

What’s your journey been like a Black queer person: My journey as a Black queer person has been just that; a journey. I’m actually from a small town just out side of Charleston, Johns Island. I always new I was different, didn’t have the words to describe it back then. However I knew that I wasn’t like everyone else. Unfortunately being queer and living in a small town down south,that’s all you want is to be like everyone else, “normal”. I moved around a lot as a kid, nothing ever felt like home to me. Fast forward to 2004, my first time in NY. I knew then that I would live here one day! 12 years later I packed up my apartment in downtown Charleston and my cousin dropped my ass off on Bushwick Avenue. The rest is “Herstory.” 

I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way?:  I am fortunate to I have to agree it is certainly a revolutionary act to live authentically black and queer. The one thing that inspires me to live this way is knowing that anything I want, I can have (I mean anything).

Maybe I’ve been fortunate, maybe the stars are aligned in my favor, I’m not sure. To exist freely in this heteronormative world is a privilege, and that’s an undeniable fact. Im forever grateful to all the queer folks that came before me! Their determination continues to inspire me!

What advice would you give to the younger generations?: To the younger generation, young queer and trans identifying persons. Focus on you! Take a conscious view of your self in the mirror. Ask your self Do you love who you’re becoming? How close are you to achieving the goals you’ve set. I know it’s hard being young, black, beautiful and wrinkle free but I believe in you!

If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: Stop crying, stop being sad, stop wishing. Start speaking out! Laugh more, start doing! It’ll all work out. It always does!

Name: Willy

Age: 25

Where your from: I’m from Chicago IL

What are your pronouns/identify as: He/him

What’s your journey been like a black queer person: My journey as a Black queer has been internally changeling. Despite what society thinks I tend to over think; Which put me in awkward social situations. Once I got passed that stage in my journey I started to love and understand who I really am. A Black queer man.

I think it is a revolutionary act to live freely and exist as queer black peoples. What has inspired you to live this way?: What essentially inspired me to live as I do was responsibility. To whom much is given much is required. I moved out in my early 20’s and it was the greatest decision I ever made. I guess the experience was liberating AF so I continued to explore love and my person.

What advice would you give to the younger generations?: To the younger generation I would say “listen”. Never DIS- Knowledge.

If you could say anything to your younger self what would it be?: To my younger self I would say never try to fit in just for the moment. Always be yourself it’s going rewarding on the long run.