A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy

Blackness is hard to summarize. It has many meanings, nuances, and tones. Blackness is intrinsically poetic and diasporic. It is always shifting and transforming, it is never static, and never one-sided.

I grew up in spaces where Black bodies were not considered beautiful or worthy enough to be celebrated—a notion my work rebels against. “A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy” intends to serve as a new glossary to describe the Black Body through poetic imagery and words. It is an invitation for self-exploration and self-determination; a giant leap from the days when Black bodies were placed on podiums to be observed, experimented on and analyzed by the gaze of colonizers. Rather, the project is an anatomical exploration from a place of self-determination, where the subjects themselves are empowered to explore their bodies for no other purpose than for their own contemplation.

This body of work is an ode to Blackness, and specifically to Black Anatomy. Black bodies take so many different shapes, shades, and forms, and yet they all share mystical, ancestral poetry. Throughout the course of modern history, Black bodies have been reduced to stereotypes, but they are much more complex than superficial generalizations.

“A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy” is an homage to multifacetedness and complexity. No two Black bodies have the same experience or appearance. This project is an invitation to celebrate all that a Black body is and can be.

This project is composed of photographs, writing, and a short film. The short film can be watched here: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/798377586