I use visual narrative as a representation of my lived experience as a queer black adult. I question concepts of beauty while creating detailed and delicate photographs through a black lens. I create images influenced by family and community through portraiture, styling, still life, and landscapes.

For years, I worked part-time (as a dependent student for loan and grant purposes) in retail and restaurants supporting myself and artistic practice where I can. During this pandemic, my income has been far, and few with temporary job positions and with a very little amount of government assistance. With the sudden move from Boston back to DC, I’ve had to take major pay cuts while supporting my own basic needs (food, transportation, toiletry, etc.). For the last few weeks, I’ve been out of work due to being cautious of the pandemic while staying with my grandparents. 

Now, I’m at the start of my photo and video-based project, The Last Rose of Summer. In this project, I am discovering my family’s own history within the DC and Maryland areas. So far I’ve been doing interviews, filing archived images, making images of my loved ones, photographing our surroundings, and more. There’s so much that I’m thinking about and planning for the blossoming of this project. I’m excited to get to know more about my ancestry and take the next step in my career. I would love to be able to properly document the richness and depth that branches back far before myself. 

Throughout the past four years, I’ve managed to rely on resources from my school to create my work. Soon I’ll be heading back to Boston to pack up my dorm and return all that I’ve been borrowing since the shutdown. I have one more semester to go before I graduate. Throughout the years It has been difficult to create work without having any of my own equipment for many reasons. As I start to develop my career outside of the institution, I question how long it would take me to accumulate the tools that are vital to my photo-making process.

Here are some things I plan on getting with the funds:

Canon EOS-R 

50mm & 85mm canon lens 

Zoom H1n (microphone)

Carbon Tripod

Godox AD360II 

Other accessories (adaptors, SD cards, Battery packs, light stands, etc..)

I have a portion of funds saved in which I mean to invest in my tools. It would mean so much if you all could help out by donating here or my cash app $tavontaylorx! Every bit helps!

Check out some of my work on Instagram !
Thank you <3