Introduction

Eat my flesh—this has always been the demand. From the plantations to the factory lines, Black bodies have been harvested, processed, and consumed, wrapped in gold foil and sold as indulgence. Chocolate, a symbol of luxury and desire, carries within it a history of extraction—of land, of labor, of life itself.

And yet, I love chocolate—the way it lingers on the tongue, the way it soothes, the way it feels like a small respite in a world that takes so much. It is a pleasure so effortless, so accessible, that it is easy to forget the hands that never taste what they harvest, the bodies reduced to labor, the histories buried beneath sweetness.

It was my love for chocolate—the muse melting between my fingers—and sharing my desire with a past lover to work with chocolate that led me to this awareness. Dark & Divine™ will one day be an artisanal chocolate experience, a reclamation of taste and truth. But before I can create, I must confront. To craft without reckoning would be to ignore the bitter reality infused—both literally and symbolically—into every bite.

Join me in an exploration of the ways Black flesh has been devoured—both in body and in metaphor—through the global chocolate industry. In following my artistic process, I invite you to witness the unseen, to taste the truth, and to reconsider the cost of what melts so easily in your mouth.

The title Eat My Flesh was inspired by the haunting words of a cacao worker featured in Slavery: A Global Investigation (2000), directed by Brian Woods and Kate Blewett of True Vision TV:

“They enjoyed something I suffered to make; I worked hard for them, but saw no benefit. They are eating my flesh.”

These words are not just a metaphor; they are a testimony—a call to confront the brutal reality behind two of the world’s most beloved indulgences - the body and chocolate.

Photography by CHD:WCK!