Black Utopia

About the project

Shot over the course of the past year, BLACK UTOPIA is a personal love letter to my family/the people I call home, and the joy that being around them brings. However, for me, these images are simultaneously much larger in scope than familial portraits, as my aspiration in crafting them was to depict & celebrate the bigger themes of the Black experience that I feel is so often misrepresented or even left out entirely. As I've reflected on the past year and where we've found ourselves as we begin to merge from this incredibly difficult time in the world, I couldn't help but ponder the many blessings & fortunes we are allocated in life, which during this time has seemed incredibly scarce for so many. However, for me personally, those blessings & fortunes have always been indisputably attached to family, resiliency, and hope, which I have always found to be undeniable and unwavering nuanced cornerstones of the Black experience as a whole.

To many, the term 'utopia" is moreso a naive idea as opposed to a place, and simultaneously a paradox by its very nature (I constantly return to this stellar episode of Mad Men titled "Babylon", where the word's Greek origins are so succinctly yet stylishly & poignantly detailed). However, even in the midst of all that's occurred over the past year, I know from experience that utopia can be both a place, and somehow more importantly, a state of mind, especially for Black people. Last year, when the world was seemingly falling apart around us in every direction, we continued to embark on a multi-generation spanning-long fight & call for our voices to be heard, for systems to be held accountable & abolished, and most importantly, for overdue & everlasting change some sort of peace of mind, in which both our individual & collective fractured hearts could finally rest & begin to heal.

This is all to say that no utopia or Black family, not even mine, is immune to the more sorrowful characteristics of both the past year or the world itself. In some of these images, whether it be an apprehensive brown eye that weightedly looms beyond the lens of my camera, or a portrait of my brother or grandfather that unbeknownst to most was taken in the midst of a most relentless summer last year, you will see glimmers and hints of affliction, because like all things that are full circle, my family's story, and the story of countless Black families today, is attached to an unknowingness & a resiliency.

In addition to the issues that have plagued us all collectively, my family in particular has suffered immense grief & losses over the past two years. In 2019, my father's life was taken in a senseless act of gun violence in New York, followed in 2020 by the death of my great grandmother, the matriarch of my family, which was then succeeded months later by my grandfather having a sudden, massive heart attack that almost ended his life & left him, the patriarch of my family, severely debilitated for weeks. However, so many of those formidable moments were simultaneously filled with unprecedented, restorative moments of faith, optimism, reconciliation, and even at times laughter, and upon further introspection, I know for certain that so much of the reason and way we were able to emerge from these times has been because of the unconditional love, support, & community that we harbor for one another. This has been, in addition to honoring the beautiful legacy of my family, my sole intention in creating BLACK UTOPIA; to celebrate my people with hopeful narratives and images, the same narratives and images that I know to be true & wish were shown more often.

All of this being said, my final intention & hope is to provide BLACK UTOPIA as a magnified observation of the inner lives, experience, & love of my family, while simultaneously offering these photos & words as a beacon of hope, one in which any community, and especially those of the Black experience, can forever encounter & live with boundless honor, wonder, & happiness, despite the often unfair & cruel conditions of the world around us.

BIO

Xavier Sharod Dominic Avery is a filmmaker & photographer born and based in New York City. After studying film & creative writing at SUNY New Paltz, Xavier completed a one year filmmaking program at the International School of Film & Television in Paris, France. Since then, Dominic's photos have been featured digitally in publications including Numéro Netherlands, i-D, and Vogue amongst others. In addition, he has contributed to film/video work for Refinery29, Pitchfork, VICE News Tonight on HBO, & IMG Models, as well as showcasing his own personal work in film festivals & programs across the globe. His work can be seen at www.xavieravery.com.\