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A non-profit dedicated to cultural diversity in photography. |
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| EN FOCO | Photographers | |
 © Sonia Louise Davis, untitled #22, tracing(s) belonging(s) series, 2011  © Sonia Louise Davis, untitled #17, tracing(s) belonging(s) series, 2011  © Sonia Louise Davis, untitled #18, tracing(s) belonging(s) series, 2011 |
Sonia Louise Davis Born: 1988, New York, NY Resides: New York, NY Heritage: African-American Selected Exhibitions: En Foco at Aguilar Library/NYPL, New York, NY 2012 Flatbush Library/BPL, Brookly, NY 2011 Westside Gallery, New York, NY 2010 Usdan University Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT 2010 Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown CT 2010, 2009 Education: BA, 2010, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT Residencies: The Laundromat Project, New York NY 2011 School of Visual Arts, Summer Residency, 2010 Publications: En Foco Artist Interview: Sonia Louis Davis (En Foco blog video, 2012) Artist’s Statement: Over the past year and a half I have been making images in and about Harlem with a 4x5 monorail camera. I’m drawn to the physical shooting process, moving slowly through the streets around my apartment in an attempt to weave my own story into the visual fabric of my neighborhood. I take Harlem as my subject and context, and my practice is both documentary and autobiographical. Drawing on collective memory and family history, I’m interested in framing the personal past in this mythic and everyday place. The objects featured in the still-lives belonged to my grandparents and hold personal sentimental value. As temporary constructions on the streets of Harlem, they become physical reminders of the legacies of the past as well as absent portraits of sitters long gone. The documentary street images provide context, surrounding staged scenes with anti-landmarks, forgotten storefronts and mid-block bursts of color. These lonely cityscapes balance the intimate moments made and captured by my camera. I see this body of work as a way to pay my respects to the important people in my life who have passed and to a historic neighborhood in the midst of massive change. It is my attempt to preserve local histories and pay homage to Harlem’s rich cultural past with an eye towards the future. |
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