Invocation 6 (SM003)

This piece is on show only and not available to purchase at present.

Size: 420 x 594mm

Material: Fine Art paper on Aluminium Dibond 

Limited edition: Print

Society sees Black women as strong, powerful, brave, angry and difficult while failing to see their humanity or allowing for them to be seen as vulnerable, gentle, open and compassionate like their white counterparts. Symbolically invoking the goddess Kali in this photographic series was a way for me to bring to the fore the contradictions and inherent biases that are present in societies’ representations of black women.

Using colour, form and performative hand gestures referencing Mudras. I intended to process these ideas through a figurative incantation. An open palm facing upwards can denote fearlessness and protection while a downward facing palm means charity and compassion. The series of photographs follow a pattern of stages that form a story from the beginning of the invocation to the final meditative pose that denotes equilibrium and peace.

Exhibited at the Instituto Morreira Salles in Sao Paolo Brazil in 2018 as part of Feira Preta Festival.