Feminist Expression, In Action!
Art Exhibition
During the Summer of 2021, Berea College's Women and Gender Studies funded me to create a feminist-based exhibition. Each piece is imbued with feminist praxis and theory, including original poems.
Artist Statement
I often question feminist theory; I ask:
"How can we visualize these critiques? How can we navigate change?"
These pieces are a response to my queries. Feminism addresses the uncomfortable—the muffled screams and fleeting glances. The whispers of change.
I hope my art provides solace for the hushed, and unabashedly bares nakedness to your soul.
May you stare at them as they stare back at you.
⏭️ Ongoing Research Project ⏭️
Have you ever wondered what it would look like if exhibits were treated as data? Or how non-exhibition artists can document their work in scholarly ways?
I decided to continue this research and created an SQL dataset for public use. You can check out the SQL data on a GitHub repo. Expect a preprint soon!
BODY
[14 x 11 inches]
It swivels and swerves down the pavement,
Dropping on the floor,
As it detangles blood and Earth,
My body breathes.
Like a temple set on fire.
Demolished and defaced for desire.
My body dances,
Through the twilight for the beat,
And the roaring of hurt.
My body aches,
Because it's not my body anymore.
It's yours—
The hungover man on the street,
The doctor in defiance,
The parched lips of a politician.
My body can't handle no more,
So, I lift my head up higher.
Rape: It's Here
[26 x 34 inches]
This piece is for all the survivors out there.
I see you. I believe you. They cannot hide.
Referenced inspiration: Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture.
Sis, Life is a Paradox
Sis, get on my ride. My time. My level, my crack.
You wish you could sit with me, and that's a fact.
Bitch, eat my pussy.
Stare at my ass.
Tell me that I am a Goddess—your Supreme Being.
Worship my body,
Kneel and watch me,
Attack,
Attack,
Attack!
Cuz you think I'm your pretty nigga—
A hood bitch, with a supple trap.
No sis, I ain't your bitch, but remember:
Life's a Paradox.
And while you're waiting for me to attack,
I'll sit back and relax and say:
Sis, why you so violent?
A Burning Fire: Sula Ablaze
[40 x 30 inches]
"Whatever is burning in me is mine!"
—Sula, Toni Morrison
Inspired by my favorite fiction novel, Sula by Toni Morrison.
Notions of Beauty: Fear the Gaze (Sold)
[36 x 18 inches]
black women and self-recovery
—bell hooks
In a revolutionary manner, Black women have utilized mass media (writing, film, video, art, etc.) to offer radically different images of themselves. These actions have been an intervention.
We have also dared to move out of our "place"—that is, away from the bottom of everything, the place this society often suggests we should reside.
Moving ourselves from manipulated objects to self-employed subjects, Black women have by necessity threatened the status quo.
The Oppositional Gaze
—bell hooks
By courageously looking, we defiantly declared:
"Not only will I stare? I want my look to change reality."
Even in the worst circumstances of domination, the ability to manipulate one's gaze in the face of structures that would contain it opens up the possibility of agency.