Boyle, Mississippi

The photographs I made in the South would never have come about without adequate education and awareness: North/South, Black/white, male/female/ gay, private/public, poor/rich, powerful/subjugated, privileged/deprived, entitled/abandoned, hopeful/ hopeless. These were the concerns I harbored as I embarked on my travels through the South. —Baldwin Lee

Two young boys stand on a weathered porch, looking directly into the camera. The phrase “I lovr you” appears on the dusty window screen. Their poses look casual and relaxed, even as they both stare directly into the camera lens.

Shortly after moving to Knoxville, Tennessee, Baldwin Lee began traveling across the South to photograph its Black residents, using a large format camera and tripod. This type of camera did not allow for spontaneous images. After requesting the subjects’ participation, Lee strove to re-create the scenes he witnessed, aiming to tell stories of people often excluded from the mainstream news.