Humanae by Angélica Dass

I saw Humanae by Angélica Dass on display in Dubai a few years ago and I still find myself thinking about it.

As Dass says in her TED Talk (I’m paraphrasing here) we are all put in our little boxes, firstly with the labelling of our skin colour; are we white, black, red or yellow? But in reality it is much more complicated than that. Which is something that Dass is showcasing so beautifully in her ongoing project Humanae.

With Humanae, Dass is hoping to virtually catalog every human skin tone in the form of Pantone referenced portraits. She wants to underline the notion that skin colour and race are far more complex than assumed.

Initially having photographed her family and friends, thanks to social media, the project expanded globally to include more than 4,000 individuals from over 16 countries.

Those who pose for the project are volunteers who are happy to take part. Dass doesn’t filter the selection of participants and there are no classifications based on nationality, gender, age, race, social class or religion.

Humanae has no official end date, Dass hopes to include all those who want to be part of this colossal global mosaic.

I’d like to say now more than ever, we need to be embracing our differences as one beautiful species, bu really when you look back through history it feels like we’ve never really gotten it together. I think that is why Humanae has had such an effect on me. Maybe if we can embrace every person, every skin colour, we can start to see how we are all beautiful and sacred.

Watch Dass’s TED Talk and see for yourself:

Read more on the official Humanae site.

Find out more about Angélica Dass on her website.

“Humanae Angélica Dass”, GPP (Gulf Photo Plus) 2017 - Photo Week, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE.