Laylah Amatullah Barrayn photographs everyday Black life with beauty and dignity, rejecting objectivity and embracing the subjectivity of photography. Her images capture intimate moments such as waiting in an office chair and reunions at pick-up time, while also honoring spirits, sacrifices, death rituals, and labor. She romanticizes death rituals and infuses labor with dignity, finding sweetness in exhaustion and vibrance in monkdom. Her work preserves collective memory by documenting institutions, relationships, and neighborhoods. This contribution feels crucial amid digital disruption, where digital Blackface, random avatars, and shifting algorithms can obscure recent history and affect archival practices. She views contemporary tools as tools for expanding contemporary art’s reach.
"“I want people to understand how important it is to remember and to document to not forget who we are, and our community and immediate surroundings, which is the beauty of photography,” Amatullah Barrayn tells HelloBeautiful. “Photographers in general are interested in taking a step back and looking at the foundation of what this all means.”"
"“Her lens sees spirits. It celebrates sacrifices. She romanticizes death rituals and infuses labor with dignity. She sees the sweetness in exhaustion and the hidden vibrance of monkdom. Her shots speak to the reality of collective memory. They preserve her views of institutions, relationships, and neighborhoods.”"
"“That contribution feels crucial at a time when digital Blackface, random avatars, and shifting algorithms obscure recent history. Some are deeply concerned about how widespread access to digital tools will affect the archival practice of photography.”"
"“It's been happening for a long time, pre-digital photographers like Richard Avedon and James Van Der Zee did very interesting things,” she points out. She sees today's tools as tools, not threats. “There's always been this kind of technology, that”"
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