Thousands of people in the United States have been diagnosed with the blood disorder, sickle cell disease. Making matters worse, the average lifespan of patients with the disease continues to decline each year.
While 1 out of 365 African American babies develop the chronic disease, they’re unfortunately misrepresented. In general, the Black community isn’t even included in the conversation surrounding the blood disorder. We don’t receive the same treatments as white patients, because we’re excluded from clinical trials when it comes to searching for a mega cure.
Fortunately, some organizations and public figures have changed that narrative. Awareness around sickle cell disease in the Black community continues to grow, leading to more opportunities for funding and research.
Furthermore, individuals like Jamaican photographer Daydrielane Osorio have demonstrated a passion for emphasizing others’ imperfections and turning them into beautiful works of art. With more people dying from the disease every year, Osorio has made it her life’s mission to capture the essence and beauty of black people living with sickle cell disease.
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Daydrielane Osorio has loved capturing the essence of people in photos since her teens. Osorio’s father further encouraged his daughter’s passion by opening a photography studio, Chucks Photo Studio, in the heart of downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Additionally, her aunt, Millicent Graham, helped mold Osorio’s creative passions by taking her to poetry readings and workshops throughout her hometown.
She even continued her art studies in college. Osorio even became the protégé of Sandy King, a widely published photographer known for using the carbon transfer technique in his photos. It goes without saying that Osorio’s need for creative expression has been shaped by major influences throughout her life.
After spending years surrounded by art, she eventually became the proud owner of her own studio known as the Daydream Land Photography studio in Greenville, SC.
“I am proud of being Black, and I think the opportunity as an artist I have to represent other individuals, whether Black or not, is an honor. But, also, my perspective of photographing others, I find it empowering, not just to me, but to other people,” Daydrielane Osorio said once. That desire to empower others soon merged with her life’s purpose; to honor her late sister Rhonda Graham.
Having lived her life in photos, Osorio realized that she could use her work for the greater good. In February 2020, the mother of two started “Conquering SCD” a photography series featuring Black and white portraits of 10 African Americans living with sickle cell disease.
“I’m hoping that my art can bring exposure through those 10 pieces of work,” Osorio wrote in a statement on her website. The 10 subjects that appeared in her “Conquering SCD” photography series also were featured in her Rhoda Graham Sickle Cell Project, an endeavor dedicated solely to her late sister. With these projects, Osorio believes she can increase funding for more research and community outreach programs.
However, her 2020 photograph series didn’t come to fruition until an entire decade later after her sister Rhonda’s death in 2008. Even so, Osorio always kept the memory of her sister alive in her heart.
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She recalled fond memories of them playing dress up, laughing and taking photos together. “It weighs heavy on my heart that my sister can not share my joys,” she wrote in a statement on her website.
With her “Conquering SCD” photograph series, Osorio hoped that through photos and video clips, more people would learn of the challenges that Black patients with sickle cell disease face like her sister. While bringing exposure and awareness to the issue, Osorio also highlighted her subject’s beauty and personal stories of courage.
Still to this day, Osorio continues to work on the Rhoda Graham Sickle Cell Project in her Daydream Land Photography in Greenville, SC. One day, she hopes that there’ll be better treatment options for the Black community, to prevent others from suffering like her sister did.
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