About

Ariel Cobbert (she/her) works in photography, sculpture and installation, exploring Black Southern identity, memory and care. I examine these through the use of family archives, vernacular aesthetics, and everyday ritual. Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, her work is rooted in both historical research and personal narrative as my practice interrogates the production of images and the ways Black life has been recorded, obscured, and reclaimed through photography.

A large part of her practice centers around capturing the exhale. Quiet, unperformed moments, when peace is found in solitude and safety; when presence isn’t about presentation, but simply being.

As a Black woman from the American South, my artistic journey has been profoundly shaped by my personal experiences, cultural heritage, and a deep commitment to social change. I seek to expand my creative horizons and challenge the narratives imposed on Black bodies by external forces like erasure and societal expectations. Above all, my work insists on presence, on fullness, on the complexity of Black Southern life in all of its joy.