Projet 1

My ongoing project focuses on Black men and the ways we live, feel, and relate to one another in everyday life. Over the past few years, I have traveled to different cities to meet and photograph men in their homes and personal environments. The project grows slowly through these journeys, through time spent together, and through conversations that continue beyond the photograph. Travel is an important part of the work. Moving between cities allows me to see how Black masculinity shifts depending on context. Each place carries its own history, pressures, and expectations. In some spaces, Black men are highly visible; in others, they are isolated. These differences shape how we present ourselves, how we protect ourselves, and how we open up. By working across locations, I begin to understand masculinity as something that changes with environment rather than something fixed. Photographing men inside their homes is central to the project. The home is not a neutral backdrop. It is a space of privacy, comfort, vulnerability, and sometimes tension. Inviting someone into that space—or being invited into it—creates a different kind of relationship. The camera enters a room where daily life unfolds: unmade beds, personal objects, light falling through a window. These details carry intimacy. They allow the image to move away from public performance and toward something more personal and fragile. Being photographed at home often involves a degree of exposure. It asks the person to be seen without the armor required in public spaces. That vulnerability is not forced; it emerges through trust. Many of the men I photograph are friends, friends of friends or people I build relationships with over time. I describe this approach as conversation photography because the image grows out of dialogue, shared presence, and mutual care. This project is also a way of understanding myself. As a Black man, I am not outside the work; I am part of it. Photographing others becomes a mirror through which I reflect on my own visibility, my own fears, and my own desire for connection. At times, the act of photographing feels like an exchange of recognition. It can be a quiet way of saying: I see you, and I am here with you. Through these images, I hope to create a space where Black men can be seen in their complexity beyond stereotypes and spectacle but within moments of intimacy and tenderness.

Denis Valery Ndayishimiye