Braided PhotoBook Issue 2

Letter from the Editor

I’m 21 years old and from Rogers Park, Chicago, IL. I’m currently in my last semester of college at SAIC, where I study interdisciplinarily with intent towards installation with elements of video, sound, and light, within the language of painting. I utilize photography as my first step towards the construction of my studio-based work, as it serves a multidimensional purpose for myself as an act of note taking for myself to remember the moment in every aspect- what I saw, what I really saw, what I heard, what I really hard, what I felt, what I really felt.

What is to be done with the sticky, murky foams and skin-thin films that coat the collections of words, pictures, sounds, and smells that we harbor in our chests, in our spines, behind our eyes, on the palms of our hands? We are left with traces to follow, and we leave our own residue in pursuit, leaving mixed muds of ourselves and others behind for the next to slosh lovingly in. Considering the molding, breathing nature of our memory in direct correlation with the human life cycle, I’m currently invested in fabricating knowingly “failed” representations of our glossed over, fragmented, fixated recollections.

Asheton Elaine

Creating documents and artifacts that reflect the extremely mortal nature of memory* through an interdisciplinarily informed installation practice. Through my installations, I try to invite others into my own memory through an almost suggestively first-person, abstracted/ fragmented experience in order to connect with others and come to terms with the things I have experienced or will come to in light of the human memory, whether it is love, loss, self-understanding, or understanding others at varying proximities. My work is an endless attempt to grapple with human mortality and the pseudo immortality memory in its many forms provides, and by extension, the essence of living in a pool of empathy amongst others beings.

Durahh

Janiah

Diya

Diya Gitanjali Mark is a portrait photographer, filmmaker and multimedia visual artist based in Milwaukee, WI. Her work has been featured in the Big Picture Peoria Film Festival, Seen I Scene LGBTQ makers screening and Genre Urban Arts Magazine. She is inspired by the physical human form, color and vibrancy, and processing trauma through abstraction.

Tristan Finney

What happened to the black shows and movies?

During the 90s, black sitcoms and shows were everywhere. Nowadays it is very rare to see an all black cast. Black movies were also at an all time high in the 90s mid 2000s. Now, we barely see any black movies. What was the change? What happened, some may ask? In all reality, it was just too good to be true. So, instead of hiring black actors they started hiring racially ambiguous actors

As they slowly but surely wanted to aim towards a more white crowd over the years, without them being seen as racist. Many shows and movies about black people are not being written by black people at all, but by white people. Stories being told about black people being told from people who’ve never experienced it. While there has been more representation of black people over the years, it’s still not enough. We are often being used as tokenism, to make things appear more diverse. As if they didn’t just decline some-

As if they didn’t just decline someone’s job application, for coming to a job interview with natural hair or box braids. Change is needed and necessary, black people should be able to be represented in a positive light. While highlighting struggle is important, we are not just black struggle. We are more than our struggle. And we are more than stereotypes. Why is the dark skin black woman always being portrayed in movies and tv shows as ghetto and loud? While the light skin black woman is always being portrayed in tv shows and movies as quiet and soft? Over the years we’ve settled for those TV shows and movies that are poor representation just because it was something. But, change is needed. We should also acknowledge and recognize black writers and producers who are progressing towards change such as Issa Rae who has given us Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch show, The mis-adventures of Awkward Black girl, etc.

Alonzo Johnson

Xarion Latimore Xarion

Xarion Latimore

Photo by @j.6sh