Wind in the Wilderness

“When I began to learn more about my lineage, I realized how important and special it is to identify with that lineage through traditional clothing and jewelry. These are the things we pass on to our daughters and they pass on to theirs. I know our Fulani ancestors are smiling on us, for we are honored to be fashioned by all those who’ve come before us”

In this timely photo series “Who we are: the will to adorn”, the subjects adorn themselves with pieces of clothing and jewelry that have a history, sentimental meaning, and significance to their identity. In a time where racial division is on the rise and anti-immigration rhetoric is prevalent, it is a joining of women who have “the will”, the deliberate intention, to celebrate the beauty of who they are. The combination of photojournalistic photographs and unconventional portraiture place subjects in their own home or landscapes that resemble their native land. With this, I am inviting viewers to look, listen, and think about the significance of adornment, the value of culture, and the will that it takes to be who we are, truly and fearlessly in America.