Interview: Symone Knox
By Lia J. Latty
Published November 12th, 2021
Did you always know you wanted to be a creative and a photographer?
SYMONE: I wouldn’t say I’ve always known I would be a creative, but I did grow up in a large family with artists and musicians. I found expression through drawing and art as a child, but at that time, was interested in becoming a chef or a lawyer. I started to become more serious about art around middle school when I began taking advanced level studio art courses. My interest in photography sparked around the end of my freshman year of high school and has since become the avenue for how I interact with the world.
What inspirations influence your work?
SYMONE: My photographic process is most heavily influenced by my identity. It is the result of me asking myself what it means to be a Black woman and a photographer. How can I use the power of photography to highlight contemporary social conditions and document history? How can I use the platform I have as a Black artist to uplift and create new narratives of blackness? I draw further inspiration from intellectuals, writers, and other artists whose works confront the gatekeeping of Black narratives and challenge the status quo within the world of contemporary photography.
How do you navigate the world of contemporary photography?
SYMONE: I am sort of just coming onto this scene, fresh out of an undergraduate program, but in the short time that I’ve been here, I have found support in many of the artists whose work has inspired my own. I was fortunate enough to have had mentors who pushed me to make connections, and since then, there have been many times in which an artist made themselves available to sit with me, both to answer questions and to look at work. Their time and guidance has been invaluable and instrumental in getting me to this place right here.
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How do you define your relationship with photography?
SYMONE: As a child, I had a hard time vocalizing my inner thoughts and feelings. Art became my way around that. Whether I was happy, sad, or indifferent, I would draw. In many ways, photography has become an extension of that process. It is the method I use to document the things I see, the problems I face, and the questions I come across.
What made you decide to start your project “Lock Up”? What impact did you want the series to have?
SYMONE: I actually began photographing for Lock Up while in my undergrad program. We were asked to engage with the concept of internal versus external and an opportunity to photograph at a local jail presented itself. The project is the beginning of an examination into the purpose of, and humanity in, the correctional system that houses the most persons per capita in the world. My intention with the work is to contribute to a dialog surrounding such institutions and their functions. Ideally, I will be expanding on this project at a later date, including other facilities outside of New York.
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“How can I use the platform I have as a Black artist to uplift and create new narratives of blackness?”
What importance do you see in interacting with your community when making photographic work?
SYMONE: Interaction with the community within my practice takes place across multiple different forms, depending on the project I am working on. Portraiture, for example, requires that I am engaging with someone else in a physical space in order to tell a story. But, for works that do not require a person in frame, the interaction with my community is more indirect. I might be engaging with the written works of scholars, conducting historical research, or examining the works of other contemporary artists; all of which is a form of interaction with others outside of myself. The basis of my work almost always stems from questions surrounding the idea of blackness, so that interaction with others is essential, particularly when I am telling a story that is not just mine.
What is your process like when you’re working with the people you photograph?
SYMONE: The overwhelming majority of people I photograph are people of color, who historically did not consent to be photographed and had no say in how they were depicted. I look at my photographic process as a collaboration between myself and the person consenting to be in front of my camera lens. In my practice, I tend to take a backseat in choosing locations to allow the person(s) I am working with to determine where they feel most comfortable or what best defines them. In doing so, I place bodily autonomy in their hands and focus on creating images that force the viewer to engage with their stories. Before my camera leaves my bag, I begin with an interview, engaging the participant in a conversation. Each conversation is recorded, both for my recollection and as a base for the framing of each photograph in their given space.
What do you hope people take away from your imagery?
SYMONE: My biggest hope is always that my work feels reachable to a wider Black audience and that they feel validated, heard, and empowered by the work I create. I often feel like Black creators are placed in spaces in which they are forced to make their work palatable to non-Black audiences; that we cannot create for ourselves in the same way that others are allowed. My work is created with this in mind. That is not to say that others cannot learn from, appreciate, or enjoy my work, but in creating work, I prioritize creating for us.