Petals of Youth
Miami, Florida, 2022
In this image we are shown a private act of joy— a child bathing in petals, claiming his own beauty.“ There’ s something about seeing my son adorning himself with flowers that makes my heart smile. His self-care,” notes Charlot. Here, Jacob, at ten years old, bathes in the golden light of late afternoon. His skin glistens with water, his hair adorned with delicate fuchsia bougainvillea petals. Known for its resilience and beauty, bougainvillea thrives in the tropical landscape of Miami, just as it has across the African diaspora. Captured in the family’ s home in Miami, this image speaks to the gentle, unguarded rituals of childhood. Charlot’ s lens, intimate and observant, honors this fleeting moment where Black boyhood is allowed to be tender, unburdened, and whole.
Whether through the playful self-adornment of a child or the ritual devotion of the priestess in Rivers of Reverence, or in the Candomblé priestess kneeling at the water’ s edge in Reverence, By the Sea, Charlot’ s images witness spiritual connection through water. In each, water is a space where the body is tended to with reverence. Through Charlot’ s lens, these moments remind us that the everyday and the divine are intertwined, that rituals— whether personal or spiritual— flow across generations and geographies, shaping how we honor ourselves.
left Petals of Youth, 2021( installation view) 17