Sherley C. Olopherne was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, raised by a single mother in various urban dwellings both in Massachusetts and New York. She is a Haitian, butch, black, woman, educator and photographer. She is well aware her identities formulate her perspective on life amongst women, life amongst men, life amongst Haitians, life in the many localities of NYC, and ultimately the life of compromised visibilities.
As an artist, she strongly believes her social responsibility lies in the realms of visual representation to engage all communities in a dialogue about what an immigrant, a lesbian, various marginalized people look like. Sherley C. Olopherne sees photography and art as simply telling one’s story orally, visually, textually, and honestly.
TAKEN SPACES: BLACK LESBIANS AGAINST WHITE AESTHETICS 