Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Paul Mpagi Sepuya is a Los Angeles–based artist working in photography. He studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (BFA) and UCLA (MFA), and currently serves as an associate professor in Media Arts at UC San Diego. Sepuya’s studio-based portraits use mirrors, cut prints, fabric backdrops, and the choreography of camera, artist, and sitter to probe how images are made and by whom. His pictures often include himself and his queer community, foregrounding collaboration, desire, and the histories of portraiture while “laying bare” the mechanics of the studio. Recent series and exhibitions continue this focus, expanding his exploration of blackness, intimacy, and representation within the portrait tradition.