David Uzochukwu
Editorial: Broken from the Colony for Atmos
![Image by David Uzochukwu shows the shape of a person's face rendered in a coral-like texture](https://creativereview.imgix.net/content/uploads/2022/12/david-uzochukwu-2.jpg?auto=compress,format&q=60&w=1200&h=1600)
Broken from the Colony illustrates a short story by Ada M Patterson that meditates on Black Caribbean identity, community resilience, gender transition, and the human-nature binary. The project was published by Atmos, a biannual magazine that explores the intersection of climate and culture.
The protagonist of the story grapples with her transition to a human-coral reef hybrid after a hurricane floods her island. In the visuals, two trans bodies embrace in shallow waters as they morph into coral-like structures.
Working with a combination of digital compositing and physical cast-making, Uzochukwu creates post-humanist photographs in line with his ongoing series Mare Monstrum, which he began in 2016, where Black merfolk overcome a threatening undercurrent to find safety in each other.
![Image by David Uzochukwu shows two figures lying down in opposite directions with their faces touching](https://creativereview.imgix.net/content/uploads/2022/12/david-uzochukwu-1.jpg?auto=compress,format&q=60&w=1200&h=1600)
![Image by David Uzochukwu shows two figures lying in water with the characteristics of a sea creature](https://creativereview.imgix.net/content/uploads/2022/12/david-uzochukwu-3.jpg?auto=compress,format&q=60&w=1200&h=900)