feature: check out this beautiful editorial series shot by atlanta photographer cooper penn, featuring maryse kyelem

Atlanta photographer Cooper Penn shot this impressive series with the hopes of presenting images of a beautiful black model in a way that doesn’t rely on exploitation or viewing black bodies through a fetishistic lens, and to raise awareness about the ways in which models of color are commodified in the fashion world. “[Model Maryse Kyelem] is an African Woman with stereotypical African features and because of that, she is often photographed stereotypically[…]Because of this, she is even asked to accentuate her “exoticness” going as far as to be told to, “lose an extra 10-15 pounds (on top of the typical weight loss for white models) so you can look stereotypically malnourished,” Penn tells AFROPUNK.

Photography by Cooper Joél Penn @cooperslight
Styling by Shadé Olabisi @lashade_designs
Makeup by Avery Beason @averymua
Clothing by Abbey Glass @abbeyglasstudio

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.