There was never a white Jesus on the wall in my Grandmother’s house.

Ever since I can remember, my grandmother’s modest West Baltimore home always had a place of reverence saved for her flea market “art gallery” purchased Black Jesus painting, hung proudly next to her Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. picture. As a child, the way I processed this imagery was pretty simple - Jesus is black, like me. God is black, like my mother and father. I grew up in the black church, St James AME church in Newark NJ to be exact. Growing up in the black church gave me a foundation morally and creatively that still guilds me today. Philosophically, there were things I needed to unlearn once I went to college and stepped away from the church in order to learn more about myself. However, I still creatively pull inspiration from my religious upbringing

People often wonder how I got into photography - specifically nude or “boudoir” photography after growing up within the strict and prudish culture of christianity. But it felt natural to me. I rejected certain ideologies I felt didn’t serve me or my purpose, and started to believe in my own power and godliness. I always tell people that I started doing photography while battling depression and photography helped to bring me out of it. But more specifically, I believe it was the energy and intimacy of the black women I photographed that helped me begin my healing process. The closest I’ve ever felt to God has been in the close presence of a black woman.

My 3rd coffee table book, “Blacker Than God” is some of my most conceptual work. When people ask me what “Blacker Than God” means, I always give a very simple response - God is black and these photos are blacker. The full reason is a little more complex than that. I believe there’s something holy about blackness. There’s something divine about the stories and customs we’ve passed down through generations for centuries, the languages and dialects we’ve created and continue to create, the cuisine we created from scraps, and so much more. This book is a move away from boudoir photography into fine art with black bodies. The concept for this book is the duality between sensuality and spirituality, and blackness as a divine gift from God.