After a year of disproportionate loss from the pandemic and the continuous threat of police violence, on top of centuries of discrimination and disenfranchisement, DPI Alum Elliott Brown Jr. and photographer Gioncarlo Valentine traveled to the American South to document the rituals and relationships that create space for joy, solace and restoration for black communities.
Brown's photoseries focuses on "spaces" and "care" as part of documenting the process of black healing in the U.S.
"I HAVE SOUGHT TO DOCUMENT RESTORATIVE SPACES, PLACES WHERE INVESTMENT AND CARE ARE TANGIBLY FELT, WHERE REFUGE IS OFFERED AS A FORM OF RELIEF. THE FIRST THING I DO IN THESE PLACES IS LOOK FOR SIGNS OF A RECENT OR DISTANT TIME." - BROWN