Brenda’s American History
“Brenda’s American History” looks at Brenda Brown, a southern who migrated from North Carolina to Bronx, New York in the 1970s. Not having a traditional education, Brown developed her career from the ground up, working and retiring at the Federal Reserve Bank.
Director: Benicia King
Director of Photography: Andreya D. Matthew & Benicia King
Still Photography: Benicia King
Post Production for Still Photography: Benicia King
Lighting: Andreya D. Matthew
Music: Naisha Walton Music
Styling: Parys Wyatt (Still Photography) & Benicia King (Film)
Brands: Ann Taylor, subjects own
Hair Styling: Vivianne Clerk
Editors: Saemi & Benicia King
Story: Brenda King Brown
New Age African
Featuring actress Selina Jones (Netflix, HBO Max, Ophelia, and more), “New Age African” documents a new era of African culture and style while giving an ode to past and contemporary influences: Colorful, yet rooted in their heritage.
Director: Benicia King
Photography: Benicia King
Director of Photography: Benicia King
Talent: Selina Jones
Photography Assistant: Jia Min
Styling Director: Benicia King
Styling Assistant: Parys Wyatt
Post Production: Benicia King (Photo Editing, Video Editing, Print Production)
Everyday Church Attire
“Everyday Church Attire” looks at a faithful woman and what her everyday life looks like outside of Sundays, how she incorporates her faith through her fashion choices, and overcoming doubt in faith.
Director: Benicia King
Photographer: Benicia King
Talent: Jessica Martens
Photography Assistant: Jia Min
Styling Direction: Benicia King
Styling Assistant: Parys Wyatt
Lighting Technician: Alex Haowai
Post Production: Benicia King
Brands: Givenchy
Man of God
Based on a previous project documenting masculinity, this project again centers the complexities of masculinity, but now incorporates faith identity. This project is to represent how we see a believing man, not solely as stoic or authoritarian, but as soft, stylish, and spiritually grounded. It’s a visual reclaiming of what, “a man of God”, can look like today.
Director: Benicia King
Photography: Benicia King
Talent: Jacob Sen
Photography Assistant: Ashley Akeba
Lighting/EQ: Erin Carr
Stylist: Julia D’Ambola
Benicia King
CHURCH ATTIRE
Church Attire is a documentary series on the fashion of black churches while also showing the disappearance of the congregation.
“Pastor Calvin Tinson” (2nd image above) is now featured in the book titled, “Seeing Black - Black Photography in New Orleans 1840 & Beyond”
New Culture / New Class
“New Culture / New Class” is a documentation of melanin or “black”, masculinity, and the reshaping of those cultural values through the use of interviews, clothing, and personal identity exploration.
Black Nationalism as a Commodity
Black Nationalism as a Commodity looks at how the black body is ephemeral for commodification within the fashion industry, just like its trends and seasons of fashion weeks. Despite the industry's use of black culture and identities, fashion is and will always be a universal tool to relate to the social and cultural context of an environment.