Content Warning: This story contains a mention of police violence.
In 2016, street photographer Eli Williamson found himself on the New York City metro across from a Black father who had fallen asleep with his daughter on his lap and son curled up next to him. With his Panasonic camera, Williamson quietly snapped pictures of the family.
As a father of two, Williamson said it was powerful to see another Black man simply going through his day.
“I took that picture, and then over the course of several years, I just started taking pictures of Black men and boys,” Williamson said. “I showed some of those pictures to another Black father, and he said, ‘Man, I really needed to see that today,’ and that’s when I knew it was time for me to take it seriously.”
Williamson began focusing his work on the Black diaspora, photographing Black men and boys in Chicago to reframe the conversation around them. He created the ongoing project “The Four Virtues,” a four-part monograph that explores the idea of viewing Black men as inherently virtuous, Williamson said.
The first virtue was “FatherHood,” how Black men engage around fathering others, Williamson explained. The second virtue, “Work,” aimed to teach viewers how to respect Black men and boys regardless of the type of labor they do. Thirdly, “Wonder” explores how Black men and boys can “look freshly” at their environments in contrast to their current need to be hyper-aware due to societal prejudices. Finally, “Fellowship” will inspect how Black men engage with one another in a state of fellowship rather than competition, Williamson said.
In January 2023, Williamson exhibited “FatherHood” at the Evanston Art Center. The center showcased “Work” in January 2024. On Sunday, the virtue “Wonder” premiered at EAC with an opening reception. The exhibit will run through Feb.16. There are also plans to display “Fellowship” in 2026, according to Williamson.
“When I take pictures of people in community, there’s always a magic moment in which I want to really make sure I represent them well, and to get their feedback that they’ve been represented well means a lot to me,” Williamson said.
Viewers can find Williamson’s work in the lobby gallery of EAC. The EAC built the lobby gallery in response to “current events,” aiming to provide a space for LGBTQ+, BIPOC and emerging artists to create shows outside of regular exhibition programming, President and CEO of EAC Paula Danoff said.
Erica McKeehen, an administrative and exhibitions assistant at the art center, noted the uniqueness of the lobby exhibition curatorial fellowship — of which Williamson’s gallery is a part — as it allows the artists to have total creative freedom over their exhibitions.
“We really let them have total control over what they’re showing and how they’re showing it,” McKeehen said.
In “Wonder,” Williamson worked to capture Black men and boys in states of fleeting, everyday moments through his photographs.
Williamson’s favorite works in “Wonder” are a series of pictures included in a book that viewers can flip through, he said, adding that the piece allowed him to put together scenes of Black men and boys’ natural interactions with their environments over time.
“Being able to capture Black men and boys in a state of wonder — where they’re not hyper-aware, where they are just taking in their environment, even if it’s on a tough day — it’s probably one of the most meaningful parts of my work,” Williamson said.
One of the reasons Williamson felt called to create “Wonder” specifically was because of the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, a Black boy who was killed by police in 2014.
Rice was playing cops and robbers in the park with a toy gun when two cops shot Rice on the scene. Williamson was disturbed by the expectation that Rice was required to be hyper-aware in his environment doing an activity that society deems normal for all other races, he said.
Danoff said this emotional charge comes through in Williamson’s photographs.
“His work hits a nerve,” Danoff said. “He takes everyday life and makes the invisible visible.”
Email: clarekirwan2028@u.northwestern.edu
Related Stories:
— Evanston Art Center showcases student talent in biennial exhibition
— Evanston Art Center exhibits works from the 10th International Artists Book Triennial Vilnius 2024
— Evanston Art Center hosts ‘Dialogue Chicago: Out Loud’ exhibit, collaborates with 33 artists