Some of Us are Afraid of Ourselves
2023
Red Clay
Approx. 13” x 6” x 3”
This piece was inspired by Renee Stout’s Seduction Coat (2004), which presents a divine and complex portrayal of Black femininity. Across the Diaspora, Black women and femmes have acted as the foundation of social, cultural, political, and with respect to much of Stout’s work, spiritual institutions. In the case of love and spirituality, Black femmes are situated in a unique historical position in which both notions were simultaneously at odds and supporting one another. Whether it was jail, promiscuity, or other pulls away from a traditional family structure, the Black feminine stepped up to weave this fabric back together; patching when needed through traditional conjureways, subversive christianity, and embracing colloquial aesthetics. I further illuminate the multi-faceted nature of Black femme in reference to love and divinity. By using sculptural practices from the Southern dialectical canon, for example the work of outsider artists such as Nellie Mae Rowe, Aminah Robinson, and Bessie Harvey; by juxtaposing these references with more figurative representations pictured in antique memorabilia, I expose the dichotomy of the perceived and the lived experiences of the Black femme.