#cultural-reclamation

#cultural-reclamation

Seeking Sexual Freedom is about rediscovering the rites of passage across African cultures that Nana believes can build new models of sexual freedom. In the book, she asks: Are our Indigenous religions more expansive than the Abrahamic faiths we predominantly practise today? Can we go back to the best of our traditional practices, and use that knowledge as a foundation?

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The night before Eid, plastic chairs line the pavements of busy British high streets from London to Bradford. Women sit elbow-to-elbow beneath shopfronts, hands outstretched as artists swirl cones of henna into intricate curls. For 5, you can walk away with both palms blooming. Once confined to weddings and living rooms, this centuries-old ritual has spilled out into public spaces and today, it's being reimagined entirely.

I love the fact Raul Lopez trucks a few parlour palms into whichever venue he decides to show his Luar wares. It's like a piss-take on a salon setting, a nod and a wink to tropes of fanciness which, like so many other received notions and accepted ideas, Lopez seeks to gleefully invert. Why can't feathers not only smother a dress, but sprout from cuticles and eyelashes? And for all genders alike, no constraints, no boundaries.

I loved the idea that Biscuits & Banjos unapologetically centered Black people, and I wanted to document how we were experiencing this invitation to reclaim and take up space here.