I’m originally from southern Maryland, and moved to New York about 2.5 years ago to go to school. Then six months ago, I left New York to come to London.

In New York, I’m still enrolled at Parsons School of Design in my third year. I’m living in London to study at London College of Communication, part of the University of the Arts, London, for the next semester abroad. In London, I’m familiarising myself with something I’ve seen a lot of, but haven’t experienced personally yet. I’m exploring a lot and looking to find a sense of community in London.

I’ve noticed a lot of people are super welcoming in London, and have been interested in making sure I have a good experience here — from people I’m going to college with or people I’ve met outside of college, introducing me to their friends, telling me about cool things that are going on. People are definitely very caring in supporting new people and making cool work. When people find out I’m not from London or the UK, they’re interested in how I’m adjusting and how my experience has been, which might not happen in New York as much.

So far I feel like Londoners are more open to speaking to people they don’t know. I went to this party the other day which is hosted by the Queer Collective, called PXSSY Palace, which is a really fun event. I went on my own, which isn’t something I would usually do in New York. I ended up meeting so many people just being in the same space, which is more common here than in New York.

Right now we’ve just transitioned to what is called the Symposium, which is a 15-week course working on a long-term project. A lot of lectures, theory based, and we also have inspiring guest speakers come in — a lot of cool photographers like Juno Calypso, who came in to speak to us a few weeks ago. I haven’t really got into the project yet but I’m thinking and planning for it.

I’ve been fortunate that social media has actually helped my moves to both New York and London. When I first moved from Maryland to New York, the only reason I knew people in New York was because I had a pretty big presence in social media. I could use that to meet people in a different city, so my transition from Maryland was not as difficult. The same thing has happened moving to London, I knew a few people from here, and once I arrived they helped me meet others. It’s been crazy meeting people who follow my work on social media in London — you realize that creative ideas today have the potential to be global instantly.

I went to a really nice show at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. They had a show that Kay Watson put together, really interesting work worth checking out there. I find a lot of inspiration walking around and people watching in Brixton, checking out the African and Caribbean culture there. The shops are all super colorful. It’s also the area closest to me that has black hair products.

I’ve been working on a portrait project in New York, documenting black people with dyed hair. I started shooting in New York and now I’m continuing the project here in London, adding more people. It’s really interesting having the opportunity to include people in a whole different city, to make it a bigger and more diverse project.

I’m also working on a collaboration with a magazine called CRUSH fanzine, doing a monthly instalment with them. The editors send me different words, and I shoot photographs based on the words they send me. They just sent me three words, which I’m taking a photo based on in London. I’m shooting that pretty much throughout my whole time here.

For many people in the black community, hair is an integral part of self expression, confidence and cultural identification. Our relationships to, and the ideas we have about our hair are molded by our experiences, whether they be trips to the braiding salon, the barbershop, conversations with friends and family, or experiences with media. These ideas have been passed down through generations, and have seen change through different trends within pop culture, politics or both. Like the shift from the afro to the high top fade, or the asymmetrical to finger waves, and even the major natural hair movement that is going on right now. Change is always happening.

Within the past few years I’ve noticed a new trend among black hair expression, and that is colorful hair. Several black teens and twentysomethings (including me) have made the decision to tint their kinks and curls various shades of red, green, blue, pink, and even combinations of these and other colors of the rainbow. I think that, for a long time, colorful hair was written off as a ‘white thing’, something only for alternative white kids. Now, that idea has been destroyed by a generation of young people that continues to reject norms, and express their identity unapologetically.

With this project, I was particularly interested in documenting young black people who have made the decision to add color to their hair either through braid extensions, dye, wigs or weave. Each subject is photographed on a plain white backdrop to emphasize the color and texture of their hair, and the style of the portraits I shot was inspired by the classic barbershop hair charts I grew up seeing in every black barbershop. With each portrait session, I interviewed the subject asking about their relationship to their hair, and the story of their decision to add color to their hair.

Being able to continue this project in the UK has been a blessing because now I’m able to include even more people. It also shows that this trend I’m exploring is something that’s not only happening in the United States — it has made its way overseas as well. Finding people to photograph here has been really interesting, and it’s been a great way for me to meet new people and expand my network of friends out here.

I’m not sure how often these parties are on, but the one worth checking out that I went to recently is called PXSSY Palace, which is a huge group of queer people of color who come together and host different events. The party I went to was also a fundraiser for a trans guy who was trying to raise money for top surgery, and it was amazing to see this huge community come together to support this one person who needed help for medical purposes.

A lot of friends recommended I check these events out because it’s where they met a lot of their own friends, and a lot of the creative community in London attends their events. So definitely something I would recommend.

There’s a lot of great markets in London. Borough Market is worth checking out, the fish and chips and pastas there are great. Pop Brixton is also really good. They’re both spots where you can get really good food, local culture and just hang out. 

I hope diversity will go way beyond just putting people of different races in campaigns, thinking that’s diversity. Diversity is a bit more complex than people like to think it is. It’s something that needs to be intersectional — just because you have five different models in a campaign, or your company’s board of directors is made of five people who are different races doesn’t necessarily mean it’s diverse. They could all be from the same financial background, skills and abilities. I think actual diversity means diversity in all categories like ability, race, gender, everything. I can see that that’s where we’re going and I hope that that trajectory continues.

I’m definitely window seat. As a photographer, I like looking out the window and seeing my surroundings. In planes, I love looking out, seeing all the little buildings and getting a sense of the whole area when you fly into a city. I also find it relaxing to just sit and look out the window and think.

Welcoming.