Eric Hart Jr.'s black-and-white photo series presents more than 60 portraits focusing on the notion of power as it relates to the Black queer experience. Begun in 2019, When I Think About Power investigates and expands the contemporary reimagining of men through themed chapters.
"Everyday of my life I've been called my father. And while I've watched my face mature into a replica of his, watched my beard fill in the same way his sits, and grew to a height tall enough to see him eye to eye, there are certain characteristics I could never seem to match. The stride in his walk, the tone of his voice, but most importantly, the pride in himself. The type of pride that exudes a certain confidence, a certain power. Growing up as a queer black man in Southern America, power hid from me. Almost like a game of hide and seek. I searched and searched. Followed the tracks of others. Tracks that led me to pews of judgment, in between sheets of temporary satisfaction, and ultimately to a place of always questioning who looked back at me in mirrors. It wasn't until this search led me to photography that I began to understand this person. Through photographic expression I have begin to find my own town of voice, my own stride, my own power. This collection is an expression of my journey."
Eric Hart Jr.
Georgia native and NYU graduate, Eric Hart Jr. (born 1999) is imagemaking artist based in Brooklyn, NY. As a photographer, Hart's stylized portraiture is an exploration of blackness and shifting identities within black culture. His visual language is influenced by the nuances of intersectionality. From masculinity, queerness, to dress, his work aims to display people like himself in all of their power and beauty. Hart's photo work has been published in publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine, The Washington Post, and i-D magazine, as well as praised by artists such as Beyoncé and Spike Lee. Hart is a two-time Gordon Parks scholar, 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 Art & Style select, 2022 Doritos SOLID BLACK Changemaker and in 2020 Hart was named one of Men's Health Magazine's 20-year-old mavericks changing America.
