"It's the Starkness of the Day", is a series that illuminates the private, quiet moments we experience while navigating grief in personal spaces. In August of this year, I lost my grandmother and aunt within two weeks of each other. I've also been consistently grappling with the increased violence on oppressed people around the world, particularly LGBTQ+ people, and more specifically Black queer + trans people.

I am interested in the ways we embody and project the complexity of our identities in private, especially during times of grief. What personal truths feel most resonant upon waking up and or viewing our reflection in the mirror? How do we speak to ourselves?

This work is a personal reminder to honor my grief alongside the grief of my community because we're never really alone in what we are going through. My wish is that we can move through, and sit with the difficulties we face, and develop new, sustainable systems of care and collective witnessing.

In alignment with this desire, I decided to photograph two sitters in my home, a space where I grieve, for this work. Sir Lex and Mello-Jahlil, both of whom are Black trans masculine people navigating grief and loss, personally and collectively, shared that my intentions for this work resonated with them. While Sir Lex has been a frequent visitor in my space, this was Mello-Jahlil's first time, their historical relationship with my space didn't prevent us from sharing the closeness or intimacy this work requires. It's been a long time since I've created something that felt deeply personal in this way.