powerful photo series ‘pariah’ exposes the trauma of incarceration

Zarita Zevallos is a Haitian photographer based in NY. In the past, Zevallo’s work has caught our eye for its stunning ability to deconstruct masculinity and delve deep into explorations of Black male intimacy, and the artist’s latest is no less prescient.

In “Pariah”, Zevallo takes on the aftermath of mass incarceration and the trauma caused by human cages, drawing links between prisons and slavery. Featuring models attempting closeness while chained in barbed wire, the series expresses the pain and difficulty for Black men attempting to regain their sense of self in a society that does not seek to rehabilitate criminals, only to punish and capitalize on them.

“‘Pariah’ seeks to explore… a system that believes eternal punishment and death, just like slavery,” Zevallo explains. “This series exists to express the pain and difficulty to integrate back into a society that rejects ex-prisoners after having been vomited by a system created to welcome them back into a loop self destruction.”

Check out the powerful series below!

Models: Remington Alexander (IG: reaxla) & Erwing Alouidor (je_lated)
Photographer: Zarita Zevallos (IG: infi_nerdy_)