This project is a love letter to the most extraordinary person in my life: my Aunt Mica.

Photography, for me, is a shift from the spotlight I often stand in as a performing artist. It’s a chance to turn my lens toward the quiet power of people who rarely get seen — people like Mica, who should be the ones put on a pedestal for the lives they’ve impacted.

Known as Madame Patrick to many back in Haiti, Mica is a matriarch, an educator, and a force. In 1975, she left Montreal to return home and start a school in one of the most remote corners of the country. Fifty years later, she oversees ten schools and has educated tens of thousands of children — many of whom would have never otherwise stepped foot in a classroom.

This portrait series was made during what may be Mica’s final visit to the U.S., as her health has declined and travel between Haiti and the U.S. has grown even more difficult. I felt an urgency to capture this moment — to document her presence, her laugh, her bond with my mother, and the way she met her grand-nephew for the first time.

There is no way to fully represent what she means to the people who love her. But these images are my attempt — to hold onto a legacy, a connection, a fleeting visit from an aging icon that felt too important not to preserve.