The Ladybug Project - Isaac Poole

This work begins with my mother, and with every Black woman asked to carry more than her share. It lives in the space between grief and joy, weight and radiance. The spectrum is wide, and still... she held it.

For so long, resilience has been demanded, inherited, performed. But what happens in the quiet, when the armor loosens? These images search for that moment. A pause.

The Ladybug Project is a hymn to softness inside strength, to the vulnerability Black women rarely get to show, and to the beauty that has always been there, waiting to be seen.

The Ladybug Project portrait of Dami in Newark, 2024. A striking Black woman with a voluminous afro gazes powerfully over her shoulder, captured in warm golden light that highlights themes of resilience and softness.

Dami, 2024

Newark, New Jersey

The Ladybug Project close-up of Dami, Newark 2024. Her textured skin and natural afro are illuminated by red light, creating an intense gaze that speaks to power, vulnerability, and the spectrum of Black femininity.

Dami, 2024

Newark, New Jersey

The Ladybug Project fashion portrait of Dami, Newark 2024. She wears a dramatic white pleated ensemble, bending in a sculptural pose against a soft blue and green backdrop. The image blends elegance, strength, and vulnerability.

Dami, 2024

Newark, New Jersey