This body of work explore questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research of African Americans in the South. Material, spiritual, and familial culture of ancestral descents of southern slaves are entry points for me to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language and exploration of history. The research centers on their material culture, spiritual practice, and traditions. These have all been used to create a visual language that speaks to our shared history. By centering the family heirlooms, the imagined histories and the real histories of these children's families collide to create a stunning visual narrative of our children.
“These works explore what we pass down. From our family, our culture and our life experiences, we pass down artifacts in the physical and spiritual. Here, digital photographs have been converted into large scale negatives, which are then exposed on fabric and cotton rag paper that has been coated with cyanotype chemicals. ‘What Remains’ after the prints are washed is a visual image of family artifacts and an exploration of history and spirit. It is what remains of our archives, ancestors and artifacts.
Cyanotypes, textiles, and found objects are used to construct speculative visual histories that serve as a form of pilgrimage for future ancestry. I honoring women's work through sewing, family documentation, and memory preservation through tactile, layered compositions creating contemporary artifacts that fill historical voids. Manipulation of photographic surfaces transforms traditional photography into something beyond pure vision, incorporating body knowledge and spiritual connection to land and lineage.
The resulting works are an artistic cross pollination of idea, image, and materials. Each hybrid results in a variant of the original, photographic seed.
This body of work explore questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research of African Americans in the South. Material, spiritual, and familial culture of ancestral descents of southern slaves are entry points for me to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language and exploration of history. The research centers on their material culture, spiritual practice, and traditions. These have all been used to create a visual language that speaks to our shared history. By centering the family heirlooms, the imagined histories and the real histories of these children's families collide to create a stunning visual narrative of our children.
“These works explore what we pass down. From our family, our culture and our life experiences, we pass down artifacts in the physical and spiritual. Here, digital photographs have been converted into large scale negatives, which are then exposed on fabric and cotton rag paper that has been coated with cyanotype chemicals. ‘What Remains’ after the prints are washed is a visual image of family artifacts and an exploration of history and spirit. It is what remains of our archives, ancestors and artifacts.
Cyanotypes, textiles, and found objects are used to construct speculative visual histories that serve as a form of pilgrimage for future ancestry. I honoring women's work through sewing, family documentation, and memory preservation through tactile, layered compositions creating contemporary artifacts that fill historical voids. Manipulation of photographic surfaces transforms traditional photography into something beyond pure vision, incorporating body knowledge and spiritual connection to land and lineage.
The resulting works are an artistic cross pollination of idea, image, and materials. Each hybrid results in a variant of the original, photographic seed.
