Born in 1985, Khalik Allah has been called “one of the most original documentary filmmakers working today” by The New Yorker’s Richard Brody. As talented a photographer as he is a documentarian, Allah became a Magnum nominee in 2020.
The corner of 125th and Lexington, Harlem, is a spot Allah has returned to throughout his career; this photograph from 2020 was also taken there, and is reminiscent of his work in Souls Against the Concrete, a collection of intimate portraits taken after sunset, using only available light. “I am shooting at nighttime in a black neighbourhood,”Allah has said.“Those are two things people are afraid of. I’m trying to turn that on its head and show that there is nothing to fear.”
