An Artist and his Commitment to Convey Black Beauty

When he was 23, photographer and filmmaker Tyler Mitchell became the first black photographer to shoot in 2018 the cover of Vogue magazine. (His subject was Beyoncé.) Mitchell’s first solo exhibition, “I Can Make You Feel Good,” on view at Foam in Amsterdam, is for the artist "an affirmation of certain autobiographical aspects of my blackness," as he told The New York Times.

"I really wanted to make something that felt black, that felt me," he said discussing this exhibit in an interview with WePresent.

The exhibit, according to The New York Times, showcases "stories of family life and togetherness, revealing an imagined utopia filled with young black figures in bright, beautiful colors."

Mitchell told the newspaper he would "like people to walk away understanding the power of images to rewrite history.” That goal and his images are a reminder of how artists can truly shape narrative.

After all, as he told WePresent, “to convey black beauty is an act of justice.”

Read the article and see a selection of the artist's work.

Image: Tyler Mitchell / Facebook