biography
artist's statement
My most recent pieces
are focused on everyday Black culture
and Yoruba religion in the New World. New Haircut, Eye
Contact and That's My Jam are illustrations of personal
ideals (appreciation of natural hair, romantic connectivity and
female friendship, respectively). I consider these pieces 'safe art'
since the mood in each piece is light and vibrant. While they can
be considered 'positive black images' I tried to depart from the
overused imagery common in contemporary Black art (parent and
baby, man feeding woman strawberries, man playing piano, etc.).
The Orisha series
represents a relatively unexplored facet of Black
culture. Christian imagery is abundant in contemporary Black art.
This can be justified by the popularity of Christianity amongst
Black people, however, the popularity of African-origined religion
is wide-spread and gaining popularity in the Western Hemisphere
but remains fairly underrepresented as Black art. I have produced
The Orisha series to provide a glimpse of the practice of Lucumi
amongst African-ancestored Westerners. Karmella Haynes,
11.10.2005
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