So many of the images of Africans we see in first world settings are based on negative stereotypes of people devastated by poverty, disease and war; showing people who come from a place that is wild and dangerous. This results in a very distorted vision of an entire continent of people with diverse lives and circumstances. I believe that these characterizations tend to limit our understanding of the very humanity of African people.

With my work from Mozambique, I want to resist these one dimensional characterizations to express what I see and have experienced over the years. It is the Mozambicans themselves who are my inspiration to create photography to be shared as widely as I am able. There is nothing more motivating to me than starting my day before the sun rises to walk, to meet and talk with people and observe them in their natural environments doing their daily activities. What is always remarkable to me as the day passes is not the invalidating distortions of actual lives but the tenderness, the curiosity and the beauty of the people.

My desire as an artist is to challenge the viewer to be more conscious of what they see and conclude when they consume images of Africans, like Mozambicans. My images advance a more positive and sensitive vision of people who are worthy of more insightful representation.