I’m reading Shaniqwa Jarvis’ bio on her website, and I think I helped her write it and that it needs an update. After all, it’s been a few years, and Shaniqwa is prolific. As a commercial photographer she’s captured campaigns for brands like Supreme, Nike, Adidas, Tommy and many more. Editorially she’s shot memorable portraits of celebrities and personalities from downtown cool kids to Obama, Erykah, Pusha, the list goes on. She’s constantly rolling out personal projects, she’s got a book (maybe it’s time for a reprint?), and she recently showed a knockout gallery exhibition of emotional and curated personal photographs spanning twenty years called Sleep to Dream. Shaniqwa flies around the world working nonstop, and when she’s resting it’s in a hotel or in her new home, in a new town, LA. She’s a New Yorker, a supportive friend, caring mentor, life of the party with an infectious laugh, and hard to summarize in one paragraph. But one kernel about her work from the outdated bio rings everlasting: ‘she captures vivid reality across a wide variety of subjects that always appear to be an extension of herself, in images that speak to raw, disparate feelings imbued with a deep, sparkling optimism.’ That is to say she’s emo and gritty, a lover and a teacher, with personality and presence to spare. Like any good artist, Shaniqwa feels deeply and manages to capture things in a way that is singular, but totally relatable.
Afternoon Light is pleased to release a shower curtain and bathmat, perfect to “fuck around and find out” in the bathroom, featuring one of Shaniqwa’s most tender and lovely images, blown up for maximum immersive enjoyment. Read the conversation below for more on how Shaniqwa IS the flowers, on the power of ancestors and where she’s headed next.