as baianas/as bahias is the first in the Desabafo Diaspórico (Diasporic Ki) photo series. Reflections on water, memory, and ancestry animate this photo essay, bringing together two Black queer artist-scholars of the diaspora that found connection through water. The two bays––Bahia de Todos os Santos (Brazil) and the Bay Area (USA)––represent spaces of intimacy, longing, desire, and erotics. Our bodies as mirrors, this photo essay opens a portal to the worlds-in-progress of Black queer diaspora, finding ourselves in each other’s homes.

Photography by Tyger Ligon

Artistic Direction by Georgenes Isaac Silva do Carmo Santos & Joshua K Reason