Caribbean Dreams, Construction #6, 2019. © Samantha Box — Caribbean Dreams, *Construction #6*, 2019. © Samantha Box

Your photos from Caribbean Dreams evoke a still-life quality. How does this creative decision adhere to your narrative of exploring identity and diaspora?

What interests me about still life is the way in which objects, which already have a meaning borne of origin, acquire additional meanings when arranged in a space/in relation to other objects. I am also interested in how the act of placing myself – as a subject, not as an object – into still life compositions changes further modifies the meanings of the Caribbean fruits and vegetables; heirloom textiles and jewelry; reedy seedlings; and archival photographs and paintings, that I use to construct my images. Still life and self-portraiture can create this space of slippage - where bodies and objects can multiply, transform and hold multiple meanings - from which I can create autoethnographic images that examine structures of exodus and diaspora, while articulating Caribbean diaspora identity from my embodied perspective.

What elements of your identity have been lost and found through your images?

I think that all elements of my identity are present in my work: nothing has been lost. All of my work is so intimately bound to me, such that I think it’s possible to understand all elements of my identity – queer, Black, immigrant, etc. - from sitting with the images that I make/have made.

Caribbean Dreams, A true story, 2020. © Samantha Box — Caribbean Dreams, *A true story,* 2020. © Samantha Box

How does your method or approach differ or relate when taking documentary-style portraits to more curated studio-based images?

The act of image-making in both practices is slow and deliberate, patient. All of my images take/have taken a long time to make; for example, my documentary photographs represent years of knowing people, communities, stories, and places. The fundamental difference is that in documentary practice, I react; in studio practice, I construct. Because I used primarily digital cameras in my documentary work, I took a lot of technical risks, and I thought and photographed quickly. In studio, I primarily use a 4x5 camera, meaning that everything – from setting up the image to lighting the composition, to unloading the film – needs be more considered. I’ve only been using a 4x5 for just over 2 years, so I wonder how much of that deliberation is also learning how to think with this camera. I wonder if eventually, I’ll become more free-wheeling with this camera, in the way that I was with a 35mm camera – or not, perhaps this is what the practice of using a 4x5 is like.

Describe your creative process in one word.

Restless.

If you could teach a one-hour class on anything, what would it be?

It would be called “Breaking your own rules: Experimentation and personal practice”.

What was the last book you read or film you saw that inspired you?

Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, by Saidiya Hartman

Eye for the Tropics, by Krista Thompson

Caribbean Dreams, Collapse, 2020. © Samantha Box — Caribbean Dreams, *Collapse*, 2020. © Samantha Box

What is the most played song in your music library?

I deleted my music library around the new year (in a desperate attempt to make space on my computer) and I haven’t resurrected it since, so I actually don’t know the answer to this question!

How do you take your coffee?

Black.