J’ouvert: Caribbean Identity and Culture in Brooklyn

This documentary series chronicles Brooklyn’s J’ouvert festival as a site where cultural identity materializes through collective ritual. The annual pre-dawn gathering in Brooklyn reveals how Caribbean traditions transform the 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 images reveal how paint and powder alter both bodies and streets, while steel pan rhythms draw participants into shared cultural memory. These images also 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 in the United States.

The project positions J’ouvert beyond spectacle, framing it instead as a complex negotiation between tradition and adaptation. By documenting multiple cycles, the work shows how the New York City Area Caribbean community maintains cultural autonomy despite external pressures. Each scene contributes to understanding how collective gathering becomes an act of cultural preservation and renewal.