A Letter To What Used To Be expresses the narratives of three black people born and raised in North Carolina. The state is changing rapidly and it’s important to remember those who built the culture it represents: the natives. Using film photography, digital photography, film and collage, Phillip Loken connects his audience to the memories and experiences of those who’ve long called North Carolina home. Four pieces from "A Letter To What Used To Be" were exhibited in the "BLACK GAZE" group exhibition at The Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina.
All works created in 2021
Patricia’s Letter I
Patricia standing outside of her old elementary school, PreEminent Charter School, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Far behind the gated fence in the background of the image was a hill that Patricia would play on and roll down as a child. During her time at PreEminent, Patricia discovered her love for dancing, reading and writing.
This image was curated into The Light Factory’s “BLACK GAZE” exhibition.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Photo by Jon Strayhorn
Patricia’s Letter II
Patricia sitting outside of her grandmother’s old apartment complex, Green Meadows Apartments, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Patricia reminisced about the African soap operas she would watch at her grandmother’s home and how she was the neighborhood babysitter. Although Patricia wasn’t a blood relative to her grandmother, the love and connection was undeniable and always felt.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Patricia’s Letter III
Patricia standing outside of her grandmother’s old apartment in Raleigh, North Carolina. Patricia reminisced about the African soap operas she would watch at her grandmother’s home and how she was the neighborhood babysitter. Although Patricia wasn’t a blood relative to her grandmother, the love and connection was undeniable and always felt.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Patricia’s Letter IV
Patricia standing outside of her old house in the Riverbrooke neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Austin’s Letter I
Recording artist Austin Royale at music venue Motorco Music Hall in Durham, North Carolina. Motorco has always been a pivotal space for the music community in Durham. This was the first venue Austin was ever paid to perform at and the venue of his first festival performance. When asked what message he would like to convey to Motorco’s newer community, Austin stated “don’t forget about the natives.”
This image was curated into The Light Factory’s “BLACK GAZE” exhibition.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Photo by Jon Strayhorn
Austin’s Letter II
Recording artist Austin Royale at music venue Motorco Music Hall in Durham, North Carolina. Motorco has always been a pivotal space for the music community in Durham. This was the first venue Austin was ever paid to perform at and the venue of his first festival performance. When asked what message he would like to convey to Motorco’s newer community, Austin stated “don’t forget about the natives.”
This image was curated into The Light Factory’s “BLACK GAZE” exhibition.
Medium: Digital Photograph
Photo by Jon Strayhorn
Austin’s Letter III
Recording artist Austin Royale at Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina. Hillside is the oldest remaining historically black high school in North Carolina. As we entered the auditorium of the high school, we realized we had walked into a rehearsal practice for an event that celebrated their 100th anniversary. In these images I capture Austin reflecting on the legacy of Hillside while also contemplating his own additions to that legacy.
Medium: Scan of Expired 35mm Film Negative
Austin’s Letter IV
Recording artist Austin Royale at Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina. Hillside is the oldest remaining historically black high school in North Carolina. As we entered the auditorium of the high school, we realized we had walked into a rehearsal practice for an event that celebrated their 100th anniversary. In these images I capture Austin reflecting on the legacy of Hillside while also contemplating his own additions to that legacy.
Medium: Scan of Expired 35mm Film Negative
Austin’s Letter V
Recording artist Austin Royale looking over the American Tobacco District in Durham, North Carolina. Austin’s grandfather was the first black supervisor at the American Tobacco Company in Durham. Austin mentioned the company would send his grandfather cigarettes when he was in the military to pass out to soldiers in stressful times. The “Old Bull” sign and the flame of Austin’s backwood glow in unison as an unspoken channeling of Austin’s grandfather.
Medium: Digital Photograph
David’s Letter I
David Butler standing outside of Butler High School in Matthews, North Carolina. This high school was named after David’s father, an educator in Mecklenburg County who passed in 1997. David comes from a long line of impactful educators, but didn’t exactly choose that path for himself. Although he didn’t follow the traditional route as much of his family did, David still carries on the Butler legacy of education through his own creative endeavors.
Medium: Digital Photograph
David’s Letter II
David Butler standing outside of Butler High School in Matthews, North Carolina. This high school was named after David’s father, an educator in Mecklenburg county who passed in 1997. David comes from a long line of impactful educators, but didn’t exactly choose that path for himself. Although he didn’t follow the traditional route as much of his family did, David still carries on the Butler legacy of education through his own creative endeavors.
This image was curated into The Light Factory’s “BLACK GAZE” exhibition.
Medium: Digital Photograph
David’s Letter III
David sitting in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. While sitting, David reflected on the importance of celebrating the culture that the natives of Charlotte have built up throughout the years.
Medium: Digital Photograph
David’s Letter IV
David sitting in the dugout of the baseball field at Steele Creek Athletic Complex in Charlotte, North Carolina. David played half of a season of Pee Wee Football at this athletic complex when he was a child. David mentioned having football practice on the baseball field before they even had a dedicated football field.
Medium: Scan of Expired 35mm Film Negative
David’s Letter V
David’s hat resting on top of a sculpture outside of the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The iconography of the hat next to the name of one of Charlotte’s historically black neighborhoods, Brooklyn, infers that David is carrying on the tradition of black excellence left behind by his ancestors.
Medium: Digital Photograph
The Bridge
With an authenticated Colton map from 1865 serving as the base of this collage, “The Bridge” serves as a connection between the experiences of freed slaves and current black life in North Carolina. The documents shown in this collage are the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment and General Order No. 3 that freed the slaves in Galveston, Texas.
Medium/Materials: Oil Based Sharpie, Epson Paper, Plastic, Colton Hand Colored Map (1865)
Dimensions: 15x18 inches unframed (20x23 1/4 inches framed)
Adult Swim Inspired Commercial
Pulling inspiration from Cartoon Network’s nighttime programming Adult Swim, Phillip continues to mix his career background in marketing with his love for visual arts. This commercial serves as a brief intermission between the more serious subject matter covered in “A Letter To What Used To Be”, while still directly tackling the topic of gentrification.
Music by Julian Argo & Josh Fonzarelli of $BlackProfit$