Rites of Spring. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Creativity is a beautiful (and might be the only) way to work through collective trauma. When the @alvinailey team commissioned these images, I really had to boil it down to what had held us together, what has allowed us to endure and persevere: love and community. Community was released in fall (swipe 4 a recap), and love? Well, nothing says love like the birds & the bees. In a world where images of Black intimacy are rare, i reimagined the incredible talents @jagreen711 & @james.agilmer as a nouveau adam + eve, equally strong and supportive. I could go on with other references, but i’ll let you fill in the rest. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ swipe right for a look @ the original with ALL my damn retouching notes 🙄. “The defects of your attributes,” the greeks say. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Production: @imprimere_ltd⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Photo Assts: @roybeeson, @_payalparikh_ @vintage_fiasco⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Digital: #janegaspar⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Post-production: @tmacintire⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #alvinailey #ailey2022 #blackimagination