Maï Lucas

Community artist

Hipsters, shady bars and the African community. The north of Paris is a kaleidoscopic neighbourhood, in which Maï Lucas has chosen to reflect in all its afro glory. "I have an affinity for black culture; it has a powerfully poetic side to it. I wanted to capture these African princesses from the back, in profile and in detail—I think of them as being a bit like apparitions. I aim to hone in on the same sensibility you might find in the work of a painter or poet." The artist's photographs also pay a vibrant tribute to everyday beauty—the kind found in the eye of those who know how to unearth such things.