Tyler Mitchell is driven by dreams of paradise against the backdrop of history. His images propel a visual narrative of beauty, style, utopia, and the landscape that expands visions of Black life and shows how portraiture can be rooted in the past while evoking imagined futures.

Currently on show at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, is “Wish This Was Real“. A curated selection of works that covers ten years of Mitchell’s dynamic artistic practice in photography, video, and sculpture, demonstrating the influence of the “New Black Vanguard” – the proliferation of images by Black photographers who work across genres of fashion and art.

From portraits made in the United States, Europe, and West Africa to his latest prints on fabric and mirrors, he traces photography’s vital role in shaping a visual realm in which refuge and repose are central.

Wish This Was Real considers Mitchell’s work in three thematic sections that follow his artistic evolution. In “Lives/Liberties,” his early influences and immersion in skateboarding culture are reflected in images that pursue a dream of leisure, community, and self-expression amid societal unrest, including an early video, Wish This Was Real (2015), a startling and atmospheric reflection on innocence and political turmoil in contemporary America.

In “Postcolonial/Pastoral,” reveries of paradise are underscored by the complexities of history and social identity, as Mitchell stages elaborate scenes in nature that invite contemplation through vibrant landscapes and symbolic references. “Family/Fraternity” celebrates the resilience and heritage of Black communities through intimate family portraits and still lifes, portraying the home as a sanctuary.

Tyler Mitchell is an American artist, photographer, and filmmaker, born in 1995 in Atlanta. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

After studying film at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, from which he graduated in 2017, he turned to photography. In 2018, he produced a series of portraits of the singer Beyoncé for the September issue of American Vogue—the most important edition of the year. At just 23 years old, he made history by becoming the first Black photographer to shoot the magazine’s cover. Tyler Mitchell has developed numerous collaborations within the fashion world, where he has created his own visual language, a blend of gentleness and wonder, that also permeates his artistic work.

WISH THIS WAS REAL
TYLER MITCHELL
MAISON EUROPÉENNE DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE
PARIS, FRANCE
15 Oct 2025 – 16 Jan 2026
www.mep-fr.org

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