Sophia Wilson

Sophia Wilson, 24, is a photographer and visual artist who has been honing her craft since the age of 13. With a decade-long career already, she is one of the youngest contributors to publications like The New York Times, Vogue, and Vanity Fair, and has shot campaigns for notable brands such as Nike, Meta, Gucci, and Google. Sophia tends to use analog cameras and develops all of her photos by hand in the color darkroom, which gives her work a distinctive quality.

Her vibrant and uplifting photography explores themes such as diversity, coming of age, and Black womanhood. Most recently, Sophia has been named Forbes 30 Under 30, class of 2024, photographed the cover of GQ Magazine, as well as the Serena Williams campaign for Nike, and stars in a Hulu Original series about young artists making it in NYC.

Work Title: “Untitled”

Medium: Photography (Chat GPT for research/ production)

Work Description

This work is a visual exploration of strength, identity, and the multiplicities of Black womanhood. In her latest series, Wilson documents the vibrant community of Black female bodybuilders in New York City, using their physicality as a metaphor for the tension between masculinity and femininity. Through this lens, she aims to challenge conventional ideas of strength, power, and what it means to embody these qualities as a woman.

This series extends a conversation that has always been at the heart of Wilson’s work: the intersection of athleticism, utopia, and the Black female experience. Growing up in NYC, her photography has often focused on Black female athletes pushing the boundaries of their bodies in extraordinary ways—defying limitations, creating their own space, and reclaiming narratives.

Each photograph in this series is hand printed in the color darkroom, a deliberate and tactile process that reflects the care and craftsmanship she invested in capturing these powerful moments. This ongoing project is not only about the physical strength of these women but the emotional and societal strength they represent. For her, it’s about reclaiming the narrative of what it means to grow, to be strong, and to belong in spaces that weren't necessarily made for Black women.