Black Life: Archival Photo Illustration

In March 2024 I became very interested in photo illustration and some of the powerful archival photography that would come up on my instagram feed courtesy of Black Archives, a multimedia platform that spotlights archival photos and videos depicting Black life over decades.

When I was active on Instagram, I aways enjoyed seeing their posts come up on my feed because I was always so taken by the energy in those photos.I also loved being able to see a mix of popular, famous Black photography alongside lesser-known photos from independent photographers and family photo books.

Absoring that content inspired me to apply my illustrations onto various archival photos of famous Black women like Maya Angelous, Grace Jones, Marpressa Dawn and many more. Through my illustrations I attempt to uncover the hidden actions, motions, energies and auras within each photo and engage them with my own mudcloth patterns and shapes.