A Negro’s Rennaissance
A socio-political series about the black community and black experience. Blending themes of the past and present to highlight the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and the fact black people continue to innovate and dominate the art field are pioneers for popular culture.
Durag Dilemma
Durags are a piece of black culture that will never die out. They are used to acquire waves or to keep braids, cornrows, or twists looking fresh longer. They are also a staple in black fashion, however, society gave them the harmful stigma of being trashy, ghetto, and gang-affiliated. This is also something a lot of the older generation of the black community internalized. Trying to assimilate to a standard that doesn’t include us, to be accepted into a white society. Durag’s are a big staple in my fashion and I get comments from my elders to not wear it out, that it looks ghetto, unprofessional, etc. Durags are meant to keep our hair safe and fresh and are an article of clothing that can be styled however you like, just like any other type of clothing.
Rebel Queen
Bonnets are a piece of black culture and black hair care that has been around for a very long time and will never go away. Bonnets are even more effective than Durags at keeping our hair moisturized, fresh and preventing breakage. Yet, when someone is seen outside wearing a bonnet they are seen as trashy, ghetto, and ratchet. When we wear things that preserve our hair we get stereotyped and stigmatized but people with straighter hair can walk outside with their hair looking any type of way and its okay. Bonnets are beautiful because they keep our hair looking beautiful.
MURDER
There is a boy sitting on a hospital bench mourning the death of his friend, when a group of crows, a.k.a a “murder” of crows swarm around him, composed in a swirl/Fibonacci sequence leading to him. The crows symbolize the cycle of hatred and his friend who was murdered due to gang violence. The two light sources symbolize the two paths he can take. The red side, symbolizes him getting revenge for his friend and continuing the cycle of hatred. The light blue side, symbolizes him looking to stop that cycle and better his life.
Untold Stories
Being from NYC, as a child, I have always seen shoes hanging up on the powerlines, and I never knew what they meant. One day, I asked my cousins what it meant, and they told me that when a person dies, a loved one will throw their shoes up on the powerline as a form of memorial for them. After hearing that, I was creeped out because I thought the shoes were haunted, or the area was dangerous because there were a bunch of shoes up there, which means it was a dangerous area. However, as I got older I realized the shoes were essentially an urban form of burial and there are a bunch of untold stories of the people who died because they have no gravestone. So this goes out to all the souls up on the powerlines