**©Paul Mpagi Sepuya** *Model Study (0X5A6947)*, 2021 Archival pigment print Framed: 36 3/4 x 25 in (93.3 x 63.5 cm) (PS1007) Image Provided by Bortolami Gallery.

Written By Stell Chu

Photo Edited by Tania Flores

Paul Mpagi Sepuya’s work is back in New York. D.R.M.P. is open from May 13 to June 18, showcasing the artist’s distinct and influential style. Sepuya was born in San Bernardino, California and received his BFA and MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of Arts in 2004 and UCLA in 2016, respectively.

**©Paul Mpagi Sepuya** *Daylight Studio Mirror (DSCF0042)*, 2021 Archival pigment print Framed: 81 1/2 x 61 1/4 in (207 x 155.6 cm) (PS1002) Image Provided by Bortolami Gallery.

Featured in many of his photos is Sepuya’s muse Caleb Kruzel, also a friend of Sepuya’s. Kruzel’s awareness of the camera complicated the relationship between artist, muse and viewer. As viewers, we question what blurring the lines between these relationships mean.

©**Paul Mpagi Sepuya** *Darkroom Mirror (_1230695)*, 2021 Archival pigment print Framed: 46 1/4 x 35 in (117.5 x 88.9 cm) (PS1005) Image Provided by Bortolami Gallery.

The pieces deal with themes of visibility and awareness—With the inclusion of the fragmented mirror, we transform from a simple viewer to a foundational part of the work. As we look at the work, it stares right back. His work reimagines the inextricable relationship between fragmentation and connection. His frequent use of mirrors and reflections in his work shows his unabashed questioning of the camera’s gaze. Sepuya’s Black and queer identity influence a big part of his work.

**©Paul Mpagi Sepuya** *Daylight Studio Mirror (0X5A1181, 0X5A1716, 0X5A1708)*, 2021
Archival pigment print Overall Framed: 37 x 113 in (94 x 266.7 cm) (PS1003) Image Provided by Bortolami Gallery.

The use of the mirror is multi-faceted, and also turns to the viewer to question their passive willingness of the oppression of marginalized peoples. “‘I’m interested in how visualised racial difference works in pictures and how representations of queer and homoerotic acts get to the fundamental and underlying formal, technical and historical processes that make up photography,” he told Wallpaper* magazine. The subjects in his work are always nude, emphasizing their humanity in the purest form. Sepuya asks not who, but what we are when a mirror is in the room.