Lyle Ashton Harris » The Chocolate Portraits

Untitled (Face #182 Senam), 2007
Untitled (Back #182 Senam), 2007
Untitled (Face #112 Kevin), 2004
Untitled (Back #112 Kevin), 2004
Untitled (Face #170 Kehinde), 2006
Untitled (Back #170 Kehinde), 2006
Untitled (Face #176 Shirin), 2006
Untitled (Back #176 Shirin), 2006
Untitled (Face #173 Tony), 2006
Untitled (Back #173 Tony), 2006
Untitled (Face #160 Kara), 2006
Untitled (Back #160 Kara), 2006
Untitled (Face #142 Robert), 2005
Untitled (Back #142 Robert), 2005
Untitled (Face #193 Fred), 2007
Untitled (Back #193 Fred), 2007
Untitled (Face #92 Cindy), 1998
Untitled (Back #92 Cindy), 1998
Untitled (Face #171 Thelma), 2006
Untitled (Back #171 Thelma), 2006
Untitled (Face #2 Chuck), 1998
Untitled (Back #2 Chuck), 1998
Untitled (Back #17 Mystery), 1998
Untitled (Face #17 Mystery), 1998
Untitled (Face #159 Anna), 2006
Untitled (Back #159 Anna), 2006
Untitled (Face #57 Catherine), 1998
Untitled (Back #57 Catherine),1998
Untitled (Face #145 Al), 2004
Untitled (Back #145 Al), 2004
Untitled (Face #184 Marilyn), 2007
Untitled (Back #184 Marilyn), 2007
Untitled (Face #14 Renee), 1998
Untitled (Back #14 Renee), 1998
Untitled (Face #134 Jim), 2004
Untitled (Back #134 Jim), 2004
Untitled (Face #155 Lyle), 2000
Untitled (Back #155 Lyle), 2000

Photographed over a ten-year period using a large-format Polaroid camera, “The Chocolate Portraits” consist of 200 subjects, each portrayed as dual images (the face and back of the head). These unique 20 x 24-inch monochromatic dye-diffusion transfer prints represent individuals across the social spectrum. Work from this series was first exhibited in 1998 at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art (Ridgefield, Connecticut) and in 2011 at the Studio Museum in Harlem (New York). In 2009 a monograph of the complete series, titled “Excessive Exposure,” was published by Gregory R. Miller, featuring an introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., a critical essay by curator Okwui Enwezor, and a conversation between Harris and the artist Chuck Close.