In the mind of: Steven Baboun

Steven Baboun is a 22 year old, Haitian visual artist. I knew Steven when we were in middle school and as life went on we lost contact for a little bit, but with the rise of social media I noticed that this one kid on Instagram whose pictures were always poppin looked very familiar. Steven Baboun’s work started to blow up on Haitian feeds and is an inspiration to many. He is a very vocal and loyal advocate to the community of Haitian creatives and to the LGBTQ community in Haiti as well. We were all very attracted to Steven’s colorful and tropical pictures, capturing the essence and the beauty of Haiti, but then we got even more memorized when Baboun evolved into an artist who would explore the world of sex, sexuality, death, religion (Christianity, Islam and Vodooism), and so much more. His work is far more than just photography, the artist also gave birth to many short films, all expressing and analyzing a part of Haitian society or one of his crucial themes. Read along to find out about his take on certain subjects, his creative process and the work we can expect from him.

Kira P: When did photos or more broadly the visual world, become a part of you/your life?
Steven Baboun: Photo became part of my life really after my first year of college. I came back home to Haiti and my friends and I were venting about how ignorant Americans were about Haitians. The students would ask really ignorant questions (like “do you have internet,” “do you live in a house made of mud or hay,” etc), and I think it’s that ignorance that sparked my urge to convince them that Haiti is not what they think it is. So I started telling the story of my country through the camera my mom got me for my 15th birthday.

K.P: What’s the creative process behind a Steven Baboun shoot?
S.B: Where do I even begin? It’s hard to explain so I’ll try my best. For me, a shoot comes to life when I’m obsessed or intrigued by a particular subject. For example, if I’m really into feminist literature right now, I research authors, read articles, watch videos and really try to understand what all of it means to me and how feminism relates to myself as a human being and a Haitian. Then from there, the topic filters through my mind and a concept is born. That’s the watered down explanation but basically, a lot of research, self-study, and talking to people who are familiar about the topic I’m interested in.

K.P: Was it more scary or exciting when you realized you were opening doors that were always (at least for your generation) closed in the Haitian art world?
S.B: That’s a loaded question. To start off, I love how you clarified the question with “our generation.” I cannot give myself credit for opening too many doors because there were some amazing Haitians who helped paved the way for some important dialogue about certain taboo issues in Haiti.

As for opening doors for my generation, at first, I was super scared to be vulnerable. I was scared to tell my stories because I was afraid of people’s response. But I don’t know… at one point in my life, I had to let my art take center stage and kind of guide me in telling the important stories and addressing deeper issues. I took a risk. I decided that I will become a vessel for my storytelling– creating art that is scary, uncomfortable, beautiful, meaningful. I just feel like I was born to do this. It feels right to me. Then when people started reacting to my work (positively and negatively), that’s when I felt excited.

K.P: Is there a part of you that photo doesn’t capture or do you put it all out there?
S.B: Ultimately, I want to put it all out there. But I’m slowly introducing myself to the world. Today, it might be a story about my homosexuality. Tomorrow it might be about Vodou. And maybe in the future, it might be about me as a lover or a dad or… I don’t know. We’ll see. The parts people don’t see are the parts that I’m waiting to introduce when the time is right if that makes sense.

K.P: A lot of your work features sex and religion, why are those two notions important to you?
S.B: I love religion. I’m a very spiritual person. I feed off people’s energies, I feed off talking to God, I feed off confessing my sins and understand my sins. I love creating art based off religion because it’s a subject that people are really afraid of exploring– and I’m exploring it for them. I love bending the rules when it comes to religion because we as humans made it so ridged, so uniform, so boring. Why can’t I have a cross between my crotch? Why can’t I curse when I’m praying to God? Why can’t I think of sex when confessing? Religion is man made, but a relationship with God is supernatural. So I’m really mocking or analyzing the man-made aspect of religion.

Sex… Uffff! My favorite topic. Some of my work is very sexual because it frees me to feel sexy or to partake in something sexual. It helps me tell my stories more effectively, it’s more poignant, more intriguing. I don’t know, sex connects us all whether we want to admit it or not and I love exploring that topic as a gay, Haitian man. I want to show people another dimension of sex.

K.P: If you had a personal museum, who’s work would DEFINITELY be in there? Or What 3 pieces would be there without a doubt?
S.B: Hands down Robert Mapplethorpe’s X Portfolio (his work is about the BDSM culture in the gay community in the 70’s/80’s), Piss Christ by Andres Serrano, and some sort of performance by Marina Abramovic.

K.P: When is your next film coming out and what can we expect?
S.B: I’m still working on it and I’m expecting a summer release. I don’t want to reveal too much but people can expect a lot of emotion!

K.P: What would you tell someone who’s afraid of taking a risk because they are afraid that their identity or that what makes them different might get in the way?
S.B: Everyone’s journey is different. Before taking any sort of risk, whatever that might be, I would say to be patient with yourself. Surround yourself with great people. People who push you and love you. Learn to love yourself, listen to yourself, understand what you like and what you don’t like. Build confidence. Then fuck shit up. You have to understand your identity and the implications of it before taking a risk. And remember, people are envious of what makes you different, so use that to your advantage 😉

K.P: As an artist, was there ever a time when you felt like you needed a break from photos, or that you needed to take the time to (re) fall in love with photography or the visual arts?
S.B: You know what’s weird… I never felt the need to take a break. Photo and art is wired in me. I need it to function, to feel good. I can’t stop… Like I said I was born to do this and I haven’t felt a single moment where I needed to take a break. Photo for me is so spiritual: it’s part of my mind, heart, soul. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t create images everyday but there’s never a time where I felt like I needed to step away. Maybe it’ll happen one day or maybe it won’t.

K.P: How could you describe your evolution as an artist, from the first moment you picked up a camera to now? Would you say that you don’t have anything in common anymore with younger Steven Baboun or is it an accumulation of different visions and experiences?
S.B: When I first started with photo, it was all about Haiti. It was all about fighting for Haiti visually, introducing a different perspective of Haiti. But in 2015, I felt a bit lost. I felt neglected. I felt like I was removed from my art and I felt a bit frustrated. So for the first time ever, I turned the camera toward me and took a self-portrait… and the rest was history. I became obsessed with taking elaborate self-portraits in order to study my Haitian flesh (What made me Haitian: my sexuality, religion, etc). I felt like I needed to tell more meaningful stories. So that’s when my transition from colorful photos to conceptual photos started. I don’t have anything in common anymore with “younger Steven Baboun.” I think every year that goes by, I’m shedding parts of me and new parts are flourishing. But one thing that I will never lose as I grow older is my love for Haiti and understanding the Haitian experience.

K.P: Anything you would like to add that could help us understand the mind of Steven Baboun?
S.B: My mind? Bruh, it’s a mess in there and even I don’t understand it sometimes. Until I have an answer, I’ll get back to you.

A big thank you goes out to Steven Baboun for being so nice and answering some questions! Thank you to all of you guys for reading as well!

Keep up with Baboun’s work on Instagram and on his website or get yourself some of his prints on Society6!

Header image by Kelly Paulemon

Kira P