Faces: The Work of Chester Higgins Jr. and Fox Harvard

The works of Chester Higgins Jr. and Fox Harvard could not appear more dissimilar. Higgins has spent the past 30 years photographing the decency, dignity, and virtuous character of people of African descent. Whilst Fox Harvard (a regular fixture in the pop culture photozine C-Heads Magazine captures the beauty and sensuality of glamorous youth. Upon closer examination of these works, they bear more of a resemblance to one another than the obvious aesthetics. Yes, the black and white frontal portraiture, horizontal plane, the stark contrast and covered hair of both women is clear. Higgins portrait is of a Moslem woman hidden by religious ritual and duty; Harvard’s’ a voluptuous beauty thinly veiled, her face unobstructed revealing youth and sexuality. Yet both works incorporate strong emotive and sentimental qualities, wrestling with issues of memory, place, and identity, both Harvard and Higgins. Never sacrificed the beauty and humanity of their subjects to tell the story. Never defined by their condition, their subjects are human first.