Monday, July 20, 2009

Review in Allston Brighton Tab!!

So here is the review in the Allston Brighton Tab that I mentioned in my previous post. I do feel that she slightly misquoted me, or at least ducked off alot of the context that I said in our interview but ultimately, press is press right?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Essence/February 2009 in Junko Revival show








This Sunday was the opening for the Junko Revival show(July 12–August 9, 2009) at Rescue (325 Brighton Avenue, Allston, MA) a hip store featuring new and used modern style apparel for men and women. The event was organized by Glovebox(www.gloveboxboston.com),a non profit organization that features the work of emerging and undiscovered artist in the Boston area.It was a great experience, and I was lucky enough to even be interviewed by the Allston/Brighton Tab. I'll be on the look out to see if anything goes to press. I would say that this was also my first time exhibiting in Boston, and it was also great to show completely new work.

I showed three pieces from a new series(Essence/February 2009) that I started recently inspired by Essence magazine, one of the most popular publications for black women. I grew up reading Essence and it has often been the single place( Besides Ebony and Jet) where black women could see their "own" all throughout their pages, whether it in articles or the beauty and fashion pages. The mixed media drawings from this series Essence/ February 2009 were inspired by representations of black women in the beauty and fashion spreads. For years there has been an ongoing argument about the limited representations of dark-skinned beauties on these pages of their magazine, and the dominance of a women of lighter-skin has prescribed a skepticism about "black beauty."

As I've been working on the brown paper bags for a while I felt the combination of these two influences: 1. the representation of black beauty in black magazines and 2. the concept of the brown paper bag test to be connected. It all seems to comment on the ways in which the black community has found ways to tear each other down in the process of building others up. It has destroyed the way we think and see each other.

I think I'm most interested in deconstructing the concept of having a "black alternative" of European beauty because this way of thinking has had such a subtle affect on people that it's almost unrecognizable. Yet at the same time I think it's affect on people is so detrimental in the long run. In my impression no issue should be pushed under the rug as any issue has the potential to be completely destructive. We should love each other that much.

On the other hand, we are making obvious steps towards progress in light of our new President and First lady. Its amazing how healing it is to see Michelle Obama featured on the cover of magazines and so trailed by the media, its definitely a step in the right direction, which in my view is the right way to go.