“For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.”
~ Audre Lorde ~
Decolonized Aesthetics is a series of fifteen images that utilize the 19th-century platinum palladium printing process, a technique favored by the Pictorialist movement for its aesthetic qualities focused on elevating photography as an art form. While the Pictorialists often focused on idealized representations of white participants, this series reclaims the process to depict contemporary Americans of African descent, challenging the historical exclusion of Black bodies from this aesthetic tradition. The deliberate choice of platinum palladium printing elevates the representation of Black participants, presenting them with a level of artistry and dignity that counters their historical exoticization and marginalization within photographic imagery.
Informed by Paul Gilroy’s influential book, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness, which emphasizes the transnational and intercultural connections within the African diaspora, Decolonized Aesthetics also considers the impact of the Transatlantic slave trade and the resulting creolization—a dynamic fusion of multiple cultures. As explored by sociologist Robin Cohen, this concept of creolization highlights the creative merging of cultural elements from different sources, resulting in new hybrid forms and identities. The project reconstructs historical narratives by positioning Black participants as creolized individuals with agency, emphasizing their self-expression and cultural synthesis. Decolonized Aesthetics acknowledges this process of cultural fusion, recognizing the diverse influences that have shaped Americans of African descent identities and experiences.