Winged Warrior
KARL HENS-POMPILUS, Winged Warrior, 2024, RA-4 print
When I moved from Haiti to New York at eleven years old, my cousin Endy was the only family member my age who lived here. We grew up together in a small home in Mount Vernon with my aunt and uncle. He was my only friend.
While I struggled with learning English—going to a new school, and deeply missing my parents and speaking Creole—Endy fought for his health. He was born prematurely (6 months old), and I watched him face severe complications growing up.
Now that he’s older, I visited home to photograph him as a means to reconnect and document the changes in his body. He’s a man now with scars of the past. Although I’m older than Endy, I continue to look up to him for his resilience. No matter what, he continued to move forward. He had no choice. I’ve internalized this philosophy as I press on in my life here.
In a way, I’ve experienced the American dream that every Haitian kid, in some form, has longed for. I’ve always wanted to document my culture and my people, but felt that, because I left at such a young age, I didn’t really know what my culture was anymore. Ironically, I started working on a project about my people, and the first person I photographed was my cousin, with whom I grew up.
Karl-Hens Pompilus is a Brooklyn-based professional photographer. He’s 26 years old, originally born in Haiti and moved to the U.S with the hopes of pursuing the idealistic “American Dream.” After realizing that it wasn’t there for him in the traditional sense, He picked up a camera and started creating his own dreams — metaphorical worlds that transcended the physical. What’s more, he was able to find success by pursuing his passion for photography — something that surprised and encouraged him. They hope to continue cultivating this dream through his art. He has worked for many brands such as On, Versace, Marc Jacobs, and I-D magazine.