Harlan Bozeman’s series Failure to Appear was born out of a period of mental and physical burnout. Feeling extreme unease at the intense depictions of black suffering and death when learning about Black history, particularly that of the United States, Bozeman began to create works which resist this narrative of suffering, and instead look for stories of renewal and survival. Bozeman speaks about creating sites of resistance through collective presence, where the very act of gathering on one’s own terms, becomes a direct opposition to institutional powers. 

Returning to the scene in the kitchen, Bozeman’s manual for survival feels almost humorous. The title of the work–If Only–intensifies this tongue-in-cheek playfulness. The images in this series are manipulated, either through collaging or staging, a trait which causes time and space to compress and expand–removed from the confines of reality, the series begins to explore speculative, alternative realities. 

HARLAN BOZEMAN is an artist and educator from Central Arkansas. His research-driven practice confronts the erasure of Black legacies, examining how these histories shape identity and personhood. His current projects blend photography, collage, and archival research to interrogate historical omissions and distortions, with a specific focus on the region of Elaine, Arkansas. He is a 2023 alumni of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, a 2024 CatchLight Global Fellow, and a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The British Journal of Photography.

ISABEL WALTER is a writer and curator based in Amsterdam. She currently works as Assistant Curator at Foam, and Editorial Assistant at Foam Magazine. She is particularly interested in art which expands the technical and conceptual boundaries of photography, moving image and new technologies.