A SELF-PORTRAIT SERIES (ONGOING)
THE NEED
This country has assassinated and continually malformed the legacies of many Black Leaders. How do we pay homage to them and encourage others to engage their stories?
The Approach
“In Memory” is an ongoing self-portrait series paying homage to a few of our fallen Black leaders. My hope is that this imagery and these stories might spur you to engage their lives, their ideas, their legacies, and consider how you might live in light of them.
Each piece of the imagery is intentional and essential to the whole.
DIRECTION
Through researching photography from the civil rights movement era, I was inspired to create portraits that honored the legacy of slain Black leaders and helped to illuminate their legacies and principles.
Wardrobe, location, props, lighting, and action are all intentional and hold specific meanings to the series as a whole.
Design
I designed the memorial pins in a similar style to the memorial pins that you may have come across in the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement Eras to honor our murdered heroes.
”"I believe I'm going to be able to die doing the things I was born for. I believe I'm going to die high off the people. I believe I'm going to die a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle."
Fred HamptonChairman of The Illinois Chapter of The Black Panther Party, 1969
What is more than clear is that our unity is the greatest threat to our oppressors. If unity can find a way to live on through multiple generations, we can change the future for the better for the future generations of our families.
Project Team
Photography, Wardrobe, & Design: Trevor Wentt