Triggered: Faith Couch

Then I remembered the most radical thing Black people can do - continue to love each other.

Image and Text by: Faith Couch

Folklore is an inherent aspect of Blackness and the history of Black people. My work focuses on accessing the memory landscape of Blackness and the folklore that lives within memories. Memories are constructed not only from personal experience but also from cultural influences, and greater historical knowledge. The intangible aspect of Memory is concretized in a visceral sense via the body but is triggered by an object, image, sound, or gesture. 

I want my work to invoke memories of folklore, and familiar images of Black people expressing love, tenderness and intimacy. I want my images to speak to all members of the diaspora to remind them of a memory landscape we are all connected by.

As a photographer who studied Art History, and paintings, I wanted this image to emulate a classical painting as well as imagery from folklore or fairytales. 

When I constructed this self portrait with my partner, I wanted the focus to be on our connection and natural gestures as well as timelessness of the setting. It could be anywhere in the world.

Check out more of Faith’s work on her website.