Deana Lawson may not have a presence on social media, but if you look hard enough, you will find online videos where she has made guest appearances to discuss her work or that of her peers and idols. An artist Like Deana who captures black existence in its myriad forms, perhaps understands the value of being seen in ‘real-life’ and not maintaining the default anonymous artist-persona. It would make sense that her inspirations come from black artists like Carrie Mae Weems who didn’t shy away from self-portraiture in her work. Deana was born in Rochester New York in 1979 and gained her BFA in Photography from Pennsylvania State University in 2001 and her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. She is currently based in New York.

At first glance Deana’s photos may elicit the memory of the 2014 True Detective TV series mixed with the burgundy-colour grading of the 1997 film, Eve’s Bayou. This is because the composition of her photographs are reminiscent of a southern dreamscape. The main protagonists of her story are the black bodies that she uses to capture love, Afro-American diaspora, spirituality and sexuality. Known as a contemporary American Artist, Deana’s work aims to use these bodies to speak of the unspoken narratives especially surrounding the black or Afro-American family unit. This is symbolic as she refers to the people she photographs as ‘family’ which would also explain the theme of intimacy which allows her beautifully charged images to breathe. Additionally she is known to find her subjects at bars, in supermarkets and during her travels.

The impact of Deana’s work is far reaching particularly due to her travels where she has taken photos in Haiti, Louisiana, Jamaica and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her most acclaimed photo titled, ‘The Garden’, was taken in the DR Congo and depicts a nude couple in a large shrubbery setting inspired by the story of Adam and Eve. Her effect as one of America’s generation of powerful voices is amplified by her contribution as an educator since 2012 at Princeton University, where she is a photography professor. This is such an important note as she will be able to shape the minds of young creatives, just like her time at university, deciding whether to be an artist or continue a business degree. Her fans include Dev Hynes of Blood Orange who she provided cover art for the album ‘Freetown Sound’ in 2016 and in 2018 she photographed Rihanna for Garage Magazine. In 2013 she gained the prestigious Guggenheim fellowship and her work has been showcased in various art galleries including MOMA, Brooklyn Museum of Art and internationally.

It was an exhibition at the Barbican in London titled ‘Masculinities’ that I first discovered Deana’s work. What I saw was in uniform with her series of work where she often photographs black people within the confines of a home. The photograph that caught my attention was focused on a black tattooed man holding a baby whilst coyly piercing the lens of the camera. It’s for this reason that the distinction in her work is apparent as she often addresses the vulnerability in her subjects. The main reason I was drawn to this image is because at first inspection we may think of violence which stereotypically plagues black men, painting them as criminals etc. However the environment we would associate with this perception is instead replaced with a warm home scenario including photos and clothing naturally placed or displaced, the only charged aspect of the photo being the mans gaze at the camera. Her work is also prolific in its depiction of black sexuality as her female subjects tend to be fully or partially nude. This is smoothly contrasted with her use of bare backdrops pronounced with exuberant jewel-tone colours summoning southern cultural influences such as the Creole of Louisiana. This gives her photographs a lovely sheen over the neutrality of her subjects.

To appreciate Deana’s work is to understand that she is in some ways a cultural anthropologist: her photographs resemble pictures we take on family vacations, are social commentaries or include historical emblems. The only difference being that she Is focused on the representation of black people and aesthetics in and around the diaspora. Her subjects, who may or may not be related are positioned to simply exist in Deana’s signature rectangular space, whether it’s a woman embracing a man, children posing as Ethiopian royalty or in her portraiture: a person stoically sitting or standing.

Deana’s aesthetic has no timeline as long as she continues to explore and preserve the intimate references within the history and culture of black people.

Words by Funmi Olagunju