Alain’s Universe

Photography is my chosen medium for creating the universe of my dreams. To find the grand in the mundane. To capture the essence of humanity even when people are not the subject. This, to me is the soul of photography.

I grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn where my Haitian family kept my siblings and I in legliz, lekòl, lakay (church, school, and home) as much as they could. With such limited options, we used lakay to center joy, creativity, and community in trying to materialize our wild imaginations.

Lakay was the universe I created to write, direct, and shoot my first short film with my uncle’s large camcorder before I reached middle school—the mic didn’t work, so I like to consider it a silent film. It’s where I wrote my first song using the instrumentals included in my favorite video game’s soundtracks. I wrote my first poem and church play, and edited my first self-directed music video here too.

Two decades in as a self-taught digital and film photographer and artist, I’m still intentionally building the universes of my dreams. If any of this resonates with you (or if you simply love Haitian mangoes and/or good coffee as much as I do), let’s connect!