Donavon Smallwood

Donavon Smallwood, born and raised in Harlem, New York, since childhood had a close relationship with the city’s Central Park. During the lockdown, the 27-year old photographer took his camera and visited the park repeatedly, which in his view was a place to escape the constrictions of the Covid pandemic.

With the pandemic at hand and the history of Seneca Village in mind, Smallwood created photographs of tentative comfort and appreciation as an examination of nature, home, tranquility, and escape. Languor series is about being within nature. Focusing on the Black community and their intimate encounters with nature’s wilderness, Smallwood creates a truly poetic visual experience.

This body of work earned Smallwood the 2021 Aperture Portfolio Prize.