Encounters

Over years of travel through sub-Saharan Africa, I document individuals as they present themselves - unposed, unmanipulated. Working in black and white, I prioritize observation over direction, creating portraits that honor agency and resist extraction.

This body of work documents individuals across sub-Saharan Africa, captured over more than 10 years of sustained engagement with diverse communities. Through black and white photography, I strip away distraction to reveal character through light, texture, and unguarded expression.

My methodology prioritizes observation over direction. Rather than positioning subjects or staging scenes, I work within existing contexts - a miner in the forest, a butcher in his workspace, farmers in their communities - allowing people to present themselves on their own terms. This approach requires patience and builds trust, enabling moments of genuine self-presentation rather than performed identity.

The direct gaze that characterizes many of these portraits emerges organically from these encounters, establishing an unmediated relationship between subject and viewer that challenges passive observation and demands recognition. By refusing to intervene or manipulate, I create space for individual agency within the photographic act itself.

This project addresses a critical gap in visual representation. While sub-Saharan Africa is frequently photographed through extractive practices that prioritize external narratives, my work centers on individual dignity and authentic presence. Each portrait functions as both an autonomous image and part of a larger visual discourse about identity, labor, and daily life across the region.

The accumulation of portraits over time creates a visual archive that resists singular narratives, building complex and nuanced representation through respectful engagement rather than imposed interpretation.