Untitled (Dichotomy of Black Police Officers)

The root of this project is the idea of self contained duality. The project explores the tension between being a black person in the USA and a police officer simultaneously. As such, this project will begin with a diptych. The initial subject will be photographed in their full police uniform, on a simple white background. In the exact same pose and background, the same individual will be photographed wearing their civilian clothes. By highlighting that the only visual difference is the attire worn, the stage will be set for the examining of the relationship and tension between the two aspects presented of the same person.

Next, the project will visually explore the environment, ephemera, and tools present in the two worlds this individual inhabits. The images will explore the similarities and disparities in those spaces.

The project will also utilize discussions with the subjects so as to allow their own perspectives and input to be explored in this delving into the relationship between their simultaneous identities as black people and police officers.

The format for the project finds formulaic inspiration in Gordon Parks' series "Return To Fort Scott" for Life Magazine. In that series he uses similar presentation and poses for the various subjects in the main images, and he then weaved observational candidly captured moments through these in order to capture a more full story. Sample images are below.

The project will visually conclude with a second diptych of the same individual the project begins with. This diptych will be from a different point of view, but still consist of an image of the subject in their uniform and in their civilian clothes. By utilizing the same subject, the second diptych will place a cap at the end of the project, and communicate that all of the previous visual explorations made metaphorically exist in this single individual.