Papiyon, the series and film, were born of a personal and collective yearning for liberation.

Addressing an ‘Afropessimist’ perspective, the project ponders the creation of a new world, even simply by way of the imagination. Probing areas of mythology and narrative, it considers an auto-ethnographic lens, seeing at how the black woman might engage in the re-authorship of her very own narrative — presenting ourselves from within the context of our very own truths.

In 2021, the series and film were exhibited with LUMA Arles at Les Rencontres d’Arles and shortlisted for the Dior Photography and Visual Arts Award.