J’ouvert: A Celebration of Caribbean Identity and Culture in Brooklyn

2022-2024

This photographic sequence examines Brooklyn’s J’ouvert festival as a site where cultural identity materializes through collective ritual and resistance. The annual pre-dawn gathering in Crown Heights reveals how Caribbean traditions transform urban space, creating moments where past and present converge through movement, music, and masquerade.

This work traces J’ouvert’s journey from darkness into dawn, a powerful metaphor for the transition from the subconscious to the conscious. The sequence captures how paint and powder alter both bodies and streets, while steel pan rhythms draw participants into shared cultural memory. These images explore how the festival operates as a bridge between generations, allowing second and third-generation Caribbean Americans to connect with ancestral practices while crafting contemporary identities.

The project positions J’ouvert beyond spectacle, examining it as a complex negotiation between tradition and adaptation. By documenting multiple festival cycles, the sequence reveals how Brooklyn’s Caribbean community maintains cultural autonomy despite institutional pressures. Each frame contributes to understanding how collective gathering becomes an act of cultural preservation and renewal.