The Baobab Project
The Baobab Project is a photo-centered exploration of Black manhood and emotional memory, created between 2021 and 2024 as part of the artist’s broader social practice. Developed in collaboration with author and co-founder of Diasporic Soul, Phyllis Jeffers-Coly, the project combines intimate portrait sessions with guided meditation and dialogue. Participants—adorned in white tribal paint inspired by African rites of passage—are photographed using Polaroid and film-based methods.
These portraits serve as vessels of vulnerability, cultural reconnection, and personal transformation. With over 70 men engaged across Ohio and Kentucky, the project reflects the collective power of storytelling, healing, and creative ritual as tools for social engagement.
