Black Bromance Series, 2019 (Ongoing)
More recently, Palacio has taken specific interest in platonic relationships between African American males. He is exploring and exposing the boundary of the “black bromance" and its controversy within the black community and larger social climate of American culture. A bromance, an urban term, is an intimate, non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is a tight, affectionate, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished by a particularly high level of emotional intimacy. It is not a common phenomenon in the black community and when it does occur, it is rarely discussed. Palacio is questioning the boundaries of people’s understanding of this in the context of black men and their projected, stereotyped capacity of affection to only be sexual, lustful, or violent. His work challenges how people receive these images, making them to ponder within themselves, and amongst others, what is platonic, homosexual, too intimate, passable, suspect, etc.