Barnabas Crosby
Barnabas Crosby is a Brooklyn-based educator and visual storyteller, originally from Cleveland. He founded Whiskey Boys Entertainment in 2010, a platform sharing stories of Everyday Black Living through black-and-white stills and films. His work has been exhibited at the Nasdaq Building and the Museum of the City of New York, and published in Fortune and International Business Magazine. He teaches photography at the Harlem School of the Arts and is a staff photographer at Lehman College.
[Rebel A: Groove Commander, 2021, Photograph]
Barnabas Crosby
Courtesy of the artist
Rebel A: Groove Commander (2021) was photographed at the home of artist Asen James and explores how metaphysical and physical spaces are occupied. Known as a DJ in Brooklyn, Asen uses music to shift moods and amplify joy. The image features traditional cultural cloths as adornments, symbolizing various cultures. It also references revolutionary Che Guevara, who wore the same muddy boots while cutting sugar cane with Cubans on Sundays as he did during Monday meetings with international dignitaries.
[Ancient, 2021, Photograph]
Barnabas Crosby
Courtesy of the artist
Ancient (2021) is part of the 2022 series Holding Court, which reimagines Black representation for mainstream audiences. It reflects on the histories of Black imagery in both Africa and the United States. The piece is inspired by painter William Henry Johnson and Steve McCurry’s iconic Afghan Girl (1984) photograph.