Originally published in Ayo Magazine on February 26 2020

The photographer and director taps into her Dominican heritage to foster cohesion within the global black community.

Renell Medrano is the photographer and director widely known for her notable documentary-style fashion editorial work. Hailing from New York, the Bronx-native has photographed the likes of Jay-Z, Solange, the Jenners, Megan Thee Stallion and more, making Medrano a rising influence in high-fashion and creative spaces. 

In partnership with WeTransfer’s editorial platform—WePresent, Medrano recently debuted a powerful photo series and film at her first European exhibition in London’s Gallery Rosenfield. PAMPARA, named after the Spanish colloquialism for “it’s lit,”  is an ode to her parents’ homeland, the Dominican Republic. The series vividly captures Medrano’s return to the island in 18 photographs, providing an introspective lens into her childhood memories, her roots and the duality of her identity as a Dominican-American.

“I took the culture and what we’re known for and exaggerated it,” she tells WePresent. Through saturated imagery, coupled with large visual motifs, Medrano’s photos of the residents of San Cristóbal and Santiago lay at the intersection of curated and candid. In one image, she constructs a visual of a man wearing an oversized domino headpiece, symbolizing the cultural significance of the game on the island.

PAMPARA is a visual representation of her lived experiences, a technique that is indicative of her photography style. In a press release for the series, “I wanted to pay homage to the loving energy and beauty of the Dominican way of life and let it shine for the world to see,” Medrano asserts. “My Dominican roots are embedded in my being and now I’m older I can see they are the reason why I shoot the way I do.”  Through her gaze, we are introduced to (or rather reminded of) the complexities of “the diaspora”—ever transient and mobile—but forever tied to home.

In a world defined and shaped by harmful representations of blackness, PAMPARA challenges and subverts the colonial gaze many communities of color have endured in westernized cultural and creative institutions. By capturing everyday life, Medrano assigns truth and agency to her subjects.

While the series serves to explore her heritage, Medrano’s artistic expression and visual style cultivate cultural connections amongst the African diaspora. As a Nigerian photographer, I view Medrano’s work not only as an exploration of the nuances of cultural identity, but notably how mediated communication vehicles like photography and film can forge and facilitate cross-cultural connections, solidarity and kinship.

PAMPARA conjures memories of my travels to my hometown, Nnokwa, which is located in Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria. Medrano’s images of animated busy street scenes are reminiscent of Nnokwa natives hustling and bustling in local markets, clad in colorful ankara fabric or mismatched sports tees and trousers. Her photographs of young boys innocently curled up in the sand reminds me of young children playing by the Idemili river as it meanders through Alor town. A couple on a motorcycle mirrors local okada (motorcycles) drivers weaving and wading through the congested streets that converge at Awka-Etiti junction.

African ancestry is an integral component of Dominican history. At the exhibition, Medrano stacks plantains in a corner, forging greater Afro-diasporic connections through shared cultural tastes. Upon reflecting on Medrano’s images of architectural structures, the scenery and the local residents, it appears that she articulates her experiences through visual narratives that reference broader conversations on identity, culture and diasporic unity. It is also particularly interesting that it debuted in London, given its strong Caribbean community. Every element of the project posited a subtle nod to the fluidity, dynamism and intimate nature of the African diaspora.

My personal reflections on Medrano’s works echo existing discourse on diaspora and transnationalism. The African diaspora is not solely defined and essentialized by the shared traumas of slavery and colonialism, but is also marked by the flow and mobility of peoples and shared cultural codes and symbols. PAMPARA can be viewed as a reminder of the transnationalism of the African diaspora. The scenes that Medrano captured, curated and constructed include common cultural styles, sights and sounds that connect us, highlighting the cross-border affiliations of the diaspora.

My favorite image that conveys this includes four young girls pictured by a blue payphone with balloons in their hair. In an interview with CNN, Medrano states that the balloons were stylized as bobble hair ties that she used to wear as a young girl. Medrano illuminates shared connections through notable hairstyles and aesthetics that are representative of black girlhood.

But this reflection does not aim to project a static representation of “the diaspora.” While collective experiences and codes unite us, Afro-diasporic communities are multifaceted. Stuart Hall emphasizes the importance of illustrating these nuances in Cultural Identity and Diaspora. He writes that modern black cinema should allow us to “see and recognize the different parts and histories of ourselves, to construct those points of identification, those positionalities we call in retrospect ‘our cultural identities.’” As Medrano evokes the spirit and culture of the Dominican Republic in PAMPARA, we can see the nuances of blackness—in this context, the nuances of AfroLatinidad—but more importantly, we begin to value the complexities and diversity of the black female gaze in the photographic world and how it can resonate with one sister to another.

Header image: From PAMPARA. Photo Credit: Renell Medrano via WePresent.