Super Shades; At Her Window

by Jelisa Peterson

“Many images of Africans that we see in the media of advanced economies are based on negative stereotypes of people devastated by poverty, disease, and war; they depict people who come from places which are viewed as wild and dangerous. Such representation results in a distorted vision of an entire continent of people with diverse languages, cultures, and circumstances. These representations tend to limit our understanding of the very humanity of African people. Through resisting these two-dimensional characterizations, I aspire to create images that better express and document what I have personally seen and experienced over many years. I have volunteered, worked, and traveled in fourteen African countries off & on since the 1990's. African people especially the children are my inspiration to create the work I want to share as widely as possible. My goal is to promote and inspire photography which offers a more insightful representation of African people than media typically portray.”