Uncle’s China
MELIANA JULIEN, Uncle’s China, 2024, Digital collage
Bubble Bath
MELIANA JULIEN, Bubble Bath, 2024, Digital collage
These photographs are part of my archive, featuring images captured in Boston, South Carolina, Chicago, and New York (via FaceTime). They reflect the beauty and the ugly of Black life. Everywhere I look, I find reflections of my childhood. During these photoshoots, my subjects and I often share conversations about the world we saw through our childhood eyes.
The collages mirror the home of Baby Doc and Michèle Duvalier, my grandmother’s bathrooms, and Haitian Baptist churches. Haitian people possess a brilliant ability to transmute—we creolize, crafting grandeur from nothing. This ingenuity shaped our language, our culture, and our religion. In a Haitian home, you’ll see a porcelain chandelier, two plants, French 18th-century furniture, and a cornucopia of beautiful faces behind gold frames.
My dream is for Haiti to be recognized for its artistry, opulence, and taste.
Meliana Julien is a multidisciplinary artist based in the United States. Her work reflects her childhood and serves as a meditation on Black beauty, encapsulating Flickr posts, beauty supply stores, and church steps. She is influenced by Richard Kern, pirates, and counterfeit items. Her work has been featured in Issay Mag and Convening by Kira Wilson