Urban Wildflower

Creative Direction and Photography: Evan Lawson Model: William Jackson I saw this young man at a couple of social gatherings back home in Tampa, Florida during the summer of 2015. Every time I saw him, his head was down and his eyes hidden. He was very mysterious. This was shortly after Kanye West's Yeezy Season 2 was unveiled. He struck me as someone who should've been walking in major shows such as Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, HBA and many more. Yet the next time I saw him, he was waiting for the bus. After seeing him for the third time, I vowed that I would ask him to shoot. The next time I saw him was at the bus stop on a rainy morning. I blew my horn and asked him his name and he said "Willie." I asked if he had ever modeled before and if he would be down to shoot. He said he had never even given modeling a thought but he was always down for new experiences. For the location of the shoot I chose a rundown hotel because its worn-look really embodied the theme of "Urban Wildflower." Even though it was run down there was still a certain beauty to it that most people would overlook. But I saw it, just like I saw the beauty in Willie. I named this shoot "Urban Wildflower" because I believe that sometimes people over look the beautiful things in the ghetto/hood. They often see it's rough edges and our people's hard exterior and negatively write them off. A lot of times black boys are not taught to love themselves. They are taught by society that they are less than; their features, skin and more are less than. Because of this they often try to cover insecurities with stylish outfits. As we were shooting, he kept saying things like "I'm too dark" or "I'm not handsome enough to be a model." But after we were finished with the shoot I asked him how he felt. "I never really felt comfortable with my skin or even body because people have said that I'm too black or too skinny. But after this I feel I want to tell everybody that they are just haters because I'm beautiful." This really stuck with me because sometimes you never know how a simple action can effect how someone is feeling about themselves or their situation.