My memory is hazy when I attempt to think about when I first met Emmanuel Afolabi but I do recall running into him on an unassuming day in midtown Manhattan in 2014. We happened to be three steps into the six degrees of separation seeing that we had collaborated with the same artists in the New York scene. Our conversation ended like most encounters with likeminded creatives, "We should collab on a project."
Fast forward nearly four years and a string of emails, our schedules finally linked to create an organic body of work. And the timing was perfect! Very early on, Emmanuel and I had aimed to put together a photo story with poetic undertones. But Emmanuel had been honing his skills as a cinematographer over the years and I had completed a yearslong passion project entitled Days After Your Departure. While I stressed over the minute details of my release event, Emmanuel willing took the initiative to document the going-ons of the evening. That footage later became apart of a self-directed documentary masterfully shot and woven by Emmanuel. I am truly honored to be the subject of his latest installment of Creatives Collected.