fine art fine artist
Mammy Series
The "Mammy" is a caricature of a Black woman, usually depicted as dark-skinned, heavy-set, desexualized, jolly, and happy to nurture, and sometimes mother, white people. She is loud, and sassy, but warm, and has a unique ability to be vocal and outspoken, but it is only to have the whites' best interest at heart. The Mammy role is seen in Gone with the Wind, Aunt Jemima, and even in contemporary media as well. The Mammy reinforces the role that Black women are to be grateful in their labor while acting as an antithesis to the white woman, who at the time, was unable to work, deemed as precious, and to be protected at all costs. The medium egg tempera and casein paint (a medium made with milk protein) used in this piece led me to reflect on the space that women generations before me had to inhabit, the kitchen.
Mammy #1
24K Gold, Casein Paint, Egg Tempera on Prepared Paper
9x12in
Mammy #2
24K Gold, Casein Paint, Egg Tempera on Prepared Paper
9x12in
Mammy #3
24K Gold, Casein Paint, Egg Tempera on Prepared Paper
9x12in
Cuzzos
Adultification is the perception of Black children as being less innocent, "fast" or sexually promiscuous, and adult-like than white children. This leads to an overrepresentation of Black girls being sexually assaulted and having steeper punishments in school and the juvenile detention system. As Black people come from and are nurtured by Black women be it our mothers, family members, or friends, it is especially important to nurture and protect Black Women and girls. The materials used to reflect her tie to the Mammy, and yet her girlhood and womanhood are reflected through the glitter, a medium found in girl toys and makeup alike.
To be an athlete requires skill determination and dedication to the craft. It is an art form in its own right, and to be an athlete is a physical endeavor with lifetime effects. From childhood the ability to partake in athletics as a pastime can be therapeutic, cathartic, and a source of joy especially for Black men of all socioeconomic backgrounds. This piece is to celebrate the poeticism, fluidity, and ultimate joy that comes from watching the cousins I grew up with engage in play centering a basketball. I also gave space in allowing the material to showcase the reality of the dangers Black men face, using gun and bullet metals, tools used defensively and offensively depending on the hands that use them.
