ALL LOOKS Talent’s Own.
“Identity means everything to someone like me,” says the photographer Sidney H. Gomes. “As a young black man who grew up in a small town in France and then moved to New York eight years ago, you tend to have a stronger sense of who you are and where you fit in society than anybody else. From roots to new merging seeds, I wanted to photograph how generations evolve through the culture of Hip-Hop, art and fashion. Everyone’s identity has to come from the soul, so you won’t find it in the commercial commodity that is being sold to you. The real freedom I have found as a black person is here in Harlem, where there is creative freedom, unity, understanding, brotherhood, sisterhood and a general sense of ‘I’ve got your back.’”
LEFT BONNET GLASSES & JEWELLERY Talent’s Own WATCH Casio G Shock TANK TOP Tommy Hilfiger RIGHT SHIRT WATCH & NECKLACES Talent’s Own RING 1998 New York Yankees World Series Championship Ring.
“It’s a privilege to be able to share what I do with the community as well as having the chance to be in Harlem and tell my story, for which I’m endlessly thankful. I can see how everything has flourished but I can only imagine how hard it must have been to get to this point where people like me have a choice and an opportunity to speak. For this visual story, it was important for me to connect with the people in the neighbourhood to do justice to the beauty of Harlem culture. It’s an honour to be able to document even a small glimpse into the magic that pours out. Although it is ever evolving, time stands still as the spirits of all the Harlem greats live deep within the place. From my neighbourhood of Sugar Hill down to the Apollo on 125th Street, there is an electric energy emanating from people that have freedom in their identity.”
BANDANA & SHIRT Talent’s Own SHOES Adidas.
LEFT ALL LOOKS Talent’s Own RIGHT CAP & SHOES Talent’s Own SHIRT GAP PANTS Patagonia SHIRT Supreme PANTS Aimé Leon Dore SOCKS Talent’s Own SLIDES Adidas.
ALL LOOKS Talent's own.
ALL LOOKS Talent's own.
ALL LOOKS Talent's own.
ALL LOOKS Talent's own.
ALL LOOKS Talent's own.
Credits
Photography and Creative Direction: Sidney H. Gomes
Production and Art Direction: Emily Jones
Talent: Braulio Devaughn Tompkins, James CB Gray, Sidney H. Gomes
Special thanks: Paul Deo, Pee Wee Dance, Pop (Braulio Devaughn Tompkins), James CB Gray, The Mad Hatter, Jamie Hollman, Justice Alexander Ashby, Jasmine Purvis, Rahim Thompkins, K. Brown, Shabbaz, Chop (Dijon Eldridge), Sport, Balla Banks, Emily Jones, Lesly Lynch, Athug, T6Dageneral, rockstar the artist, K finesse, Sugar Hill,125th st, Sleek Team and Space Cowboys.
As featured in SLEEK 74 – IDENTITY. Available in print and digital here.