A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy

Denisse Ariana Pérez takes a poetic journey through the anatomy of the Black body, celebrating all that Blackness is and can be.

A nuanced concept that carries many meanings, and many tones, Blackness is hard to summarize – and perhaps shouldn’t be. Yet, exploring its ever-shapeshifting nature reveals the poetic and diasporic essence of Blackness. Never static, never one-sided, but in a constant state of transformation.

In short film A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy, Denisse Ariana Pérez reimagines black bodies through carefully crafted lyricism, deconstructing the dialogues shaped by them, and cast upon them. Intended to serve as a glossary of terms from which self-exploration can be expanded, the film centers the anatomy of the Black body through poetic words and images, paying homage to their multifacetedness and complexity, while shattering the stereotypes and superficial generalizations too often entwined with their representation.

Talking on the project, Pérez explains, “A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy is an anatomical exploration from a place of self-determination; a giant leap from the days when Black bodies were placed on podiums to be observed, experimented on, and analyzed by the gaze of colonizers. As an invitation for self-exploration, the subjects themselves are empowered to explore their bodies for no other purpose than for their own contemplation.”

An ode to Blackness, and bodies, whereby no two bear the same experience or appearance, A Poetic Lesson on Black Anatomy crafts a new language around poetic terminologies, while handing full control to the beholder. Celebrating all that a Black body is and can be, Pérez weaves her mystical verse into a portrait of the distinctions that define us – and that enable us to define ourselves in our own terms, away from the reductive lens that has molded images through history.