AUGUST 9, 2023 KATE MOTHES

All images © Delphine Diallo

In her series ‘Highness,’ photographer Delphine Diallo’s regal subjects don elaborate masks, headdresses, and jewelry.

In her series Highness, Delphine Diallo’s regal subjects don elaborate masks, headdresses, and jewelry. Captured in both color and black-and-white, the women are portrayed as timeless and noble, wearing body paint, jewelry, and attire that draw on mythology and spiritual symbols to explore what the photographer calls the “divine female body.”

Highness developed from an earlier project focused on presenting family members and friends as goddesses. As the series expanded, Diallo recognized the importance of connecting to her subjects and empowering them in the process, emphasizing deep conversations and building long-term relationships with her sitters.

In a practice spanning sculpture, design, photography, collages, and music, Diallo finds inspiration in collaboration and learning from others. Highness features intricate hair pieces made by Joanne Petit-Frère, including a towering form evocative of Nefertiti’s tapered blue headdress.[…]

More: Delphine Diallo Crafts Divinely Elegant Portraits of Black Women in ‘Highness’ — Colossal