Being abroad gave Baldwin a perspective on the life that he’d leave behind and a solitary freedom to pursue his own craft. He notes that “once you find yourself in another civilization you are forced to examine your own”. In a sense Baldwin’s travel brought him even closer to the social concerns of contemporary America. In the sixties overwhelmed by a sense of responsibility to the times Baldwin returned to take part of the Civil Rights Movement. This piece began as an observation of Baldwin in his new environment. Once I able captured his environment, I began recreating that overwhelming concern with a visual tug of war. While the different Baldwin’s fight to speak about what’s under the surface.