Caribbean-born, Copenhagen-based photographer Denisse Ariana Perez is responsible for the three-part series ‘Men in Water’ shot in Benin and Uganda.
The project is for the purpose of disconnecting well-known stereotypes of black masculinity and connecting the subjects, instead, with each other and their environment.
“I’m on a quest to find beauty in the sometimes less obvious places,” Perez said. “I like to use this medium to highlight the beauty of individuals, their communities and cultures, especially those who are marginalized.”
In the series, the subjects are cast as fragile and soft depictions of their normal selves.
“Water can disarm even the most armed of facades,” Perez writes. “Becoming one with water is not about rushing but rather about flowing. And flowing is the closest thing to being.”
