Myah Jeffers
Myah Jeffers is a Barbadian-British, award-winning artist working across photography, text, performance, and film. The notion of Black interiority is a recurring theme in her work. Myah’s photographic work has won the Portrait of Britain Prize in both 2019 and 2021. She most recently became a recipient of the inaugural Leica & We-Present’s Photography Grant for Black photographers, curated by Holly-Marie Cato. Her portraits have been featured in a host of publications, including VOGUE, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Independent, Aesthetica Magazine, It’s Nice That and the British Journal of Photography. She has also worked in collaboration with the likes of Tate, Somerset House, ICA, South London Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery.
Jamal and Karen – This portrait was the final image taken as part of a wider commission by BME @ The Bar, an organisation comprised of a small number of East Midlands-based Black Barristers. To witness two Black Barristers observe their own distorted image whilst embodying the power of the justice system felt remarkably poignant. This portrait is unapologetic in how it commands your gaze, without granting the viewer the privilege of reciprocity. As a result, the photograph calls for an interrogation of the layers of Blackness, the justice system, its colonial legacy and what the future may hold in this country.