Photo taken on film by han (@han.oncam).
Tonal Mondae (they/them) is a documentary photographer based in Chicago, IL. Their work creates visual narratives that celebrate personhood and seek to explore the relationship between belonging and environment. The use of collaborative portraiture is an act of resistance that promotes the right to self-authorship for Black and Brown queer people.
Their portrait series, mirror, mirror, explores mental health and body dysmorphia. It discusses how these experiences influenced the artist's self-discovery of gender, using mirrors as both reflections and non-reflections of one's inner dialogue. This series has been exhibited at the Indianapolis Center for the Arts, Side Street Art Studio, and Pilsen Arts & Community House.
In 2025, Tonal was a Chicago Creatives for Justice Fellow, where they created a portrait campaign on mental health to support Treatment not Trauma and their fight for city funding and expansion for the 988 mental health crisis line.
Currently, they are an AiR at Artists in Public Schools for the 2025-2027 school years.
You can reach out to via email at tonalscorner@gmail.com
To view client work and projects, please visit: www.tonalscorner.com