What is Afrosensuality?
A few months ago I spoke to a photographer who didn’t know what afrosensual meant. This makes sense because its not in the dictionary; its not on Wikipedia. No one has created an official definition of the term and I won’t pretend to have the authority to do so, here. I can only tell you what it means to me.
You see it started a picture of a sista and her shay butter. It was a simple portrait, set on a warm day in a sun-lit apartment in Atlanta’s West End. But the capture haunted me. It reminded me of a beauty that I had not seen in the galleries or the museums… a beauty that did not fill the pages magazines or art history books. One sista, timeless in her locs and satin, reminded me that she had not been properly celebrated or honored.
Or so I thought.
Since I’ve started creating my own works, I have discovered others, from the past, who shared my conviction. And among my contemporaries I am finding more and more whose reverence, revelation and homage for the sensual beauty of Afrocentricity have given way to visual expression.
So what started as one man’s creative journey— a quest to explore and exalt the very beauty that seduced a Caesar and moved a Pharaoh to worship one God– has become something MORE REAL than history. More and more, I am finding that my lens is inspired by Afrocentric sensuality, and to the very real women AND men who give it life. But my vision is only part of the story.
Ree Swa of Lens Of Life Photography broadens the perspective with unique captures of her own with images that portray a passion whose depth is born out of the regality of African ancestry as well as genuine spirituality whose origins are as old as humanity itself.
Together we have created images of afrosensuality that celebrate that beauty that we don’t find in the galleries, magazines and art history books. And we give voice to the texture, regal and soulful culture that has cultivated that beauty. The images are currently on display at the Apache Cafe in Atlanta and have received nothing but positive responses. Some of the images are on display below.
Join us in our celebration of afrosensuality. Look at the work. Look at yourself. And remember, it started with a sista and her shay butter.
What is your afrosensual portrait?
