Sight. There is power in looking seeing.
In this body of work, I challenge the canons of iconic stereotypes relating to perceptions about black women through the lens of the oppositional gaze. There are six paintings. Created in pairs, each of the paintings represents a historical and contemporary depiction of a common stereotype - Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire. The images stare at one another, and their inherited perceptions, through the power of looking/seeing. An action coined by theorist bell hooks as the oppositional gaze. Using visual cues I reference each of the stereotypes such as Mammy’s headscarf, Sapphire’s confrontational pose and Jezebel’s allure, each function as identifiers that connect the portraits and their lineage.
'mima. depicts a historical view of the Mammy stereotype and muva., a more contemporary likeness. Mammy, the most common stereotype associated with black women is a docile, devoted, asexual and often assumed happy servant of the (white) family. The name 'mima. references Aunt Jemima, the most pervasive symbol and personification of the mammy stereotype. First as a popular minstrel show character then as the trademarked image of the Quaker Oats Company, whose bandanna tied hair and aproned, fat waist was migrated from the minstrel character. In each of my paintings, the subject wears Mammy's signature headscarf, historically a part of a slave woman's uniform and a visual implication of their bondage. In 'mima. her hair is completely covered by her scarf, her unadorned face welcoming and pleasant, and she wears white, a color commonly worn by servant workers. In muva., her face is weary and worn from generations of work. She wears modern gold hoops and her hair is free, suggesting that in contemporary times black women have reclaimed agency over their public persona. Her shirt is lavender. A reference to the popular movie and television character, Madea, a stereotypical mammy - heavy set and devoted to the care of the family even at her own expense. For the character and a nod to Mammy's asexual image, the apron has been replaced with a mix of church dresses and muumuus. Alternatively, the Madea character is anything but docile as she does and says what she wants and defying her often results in humiliation and sometimes violence.
In spite of her ability to reclaim agency over her appearance, the subject in muva. is still inextricably bound to the mammy stereotype. This is symbolized by the scarf the binds part of her exposed hair and her lavender, Madea referenced shirt. The name muva is a contemporary slang term for mother.
GENERAL ARTIST STATEMENT (last updated December 2018)
In my paintings and installations, I examine contemporary spectatorship and the power of language as it relates to perceptions of and about black women, through the lens of the oppositional gaze. Author, bell hooks, described the oppositional gaze as an “overwhelming longing to look, a rebellious desire”. In my artwork, the figures stare back, intentionally, in an effort to challenge perceptions. In doing so, the figures become the spectator as opposed to the spectacle. They are not just objects meant to be seen but serve as active “seers”. They see the viewer and they see one another. The paintings are often displayed in familiar but uncomfortable environments. This allows the viewer to experience the way in which black women (and other people of color) navigate the world around them and illustrates how language has been used against us. The paintings and installations honor our human-ness, independent of historical perception and contemporary assumptions, and encourage empathy through connection.
