I constantly feel as though I am in the spotlight, where I can never make a mistake. In making a mistake, I run the risk of embodying the pre-conceived notions commonly associated with black men. Through my images, I used my surroundings to embody the “spotlight” that is constantly following me in my life, and my attempts to escape it. In some of my images, I use saturation and desaturation to represent the multidimensional aspects of my personality. I want the viewer to understand that through all of my success, there is an equally if not ever-more presence of failure. I rarely deal with emotions because I have seen them as roadblocks to my development. If anything, however, the opposite is true. By processing events in my life and emotions that have been suppressed, I can gain a more true understanding of myself, and grow as a person. This project has allowed me the chance to navigate that in a manner that is both creative and constructive. While expressing myself through my photographs, I can begin to seek and maybe understand the root reason and influence of my actions and mindset as a black man in America.
