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St. John is the smallest of the three main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Its society is complex, having been shaped profoundly by historical  figures ranging from King June of the Akwamu nation in West Africa, who lead a revolt against the Danes in 1733; to North American tycoon and philanthropist Laurence Rockefeller, who bought huge tracts of the island in the 1950’s; to even Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father’ of the atomic bomb, who lived on the island’s North shore in the second half of the 20th-century. The portraits in the ‘Faces of St. John’ series, taken by young St. Lucia-born photographer Imran Stephen in 2014, aim to capture everyday moments in a community and island that is in constant flux.

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Imran Stephen is a photographer born in St. Lucia who is currently based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He first moved to St. John as a teenager. His series “Faces of St. John” was displayed at Motu in 2014.