Photo by Gus Bennett

Selwhyn “Polo Silk” Terrell (b. 1964, New Orleans) photographs Black New Orleans blending elements of portraiture, fashion, and performance.

Polo Silk mobilized the traditional portrait studio, taking it to the streets by day-and-night at cultural traditions like Super Sunday and bounce clubs. His work often features colorful airbrushed backdrops created by his cousin Otis Spears. Each backdrop combines figures and symbols from hip-hop, bounce music, sports and luxury goods.

Together Polo and his subjects have cultivated one of the most striking visual archives of Black individuality and expression — ultimately forming a collective community identity that is authentically New Orleans.