Archive Mode. Call "Us Reimagined" Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts: Works by Contemporary California African-American Artists ended on 1/4/23, 5:00 PM. Call settings are read only. See Current Open Calls
Mixed media collage and acrylic on canvas.
My artwork, "Unbound" is a nod to poets Maya Angelou's 1969 literature "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and Amanda Gorman's 2021 poem "The Hill We Climb". Photographer Awol Erizku captured the essence of the two poets in a Time magazine spread and much like the photographer, I wanted to create a work of art that spoke visual sentiments like a poet. More specifically, I wanted my work to reimagine that the singing caged bird is no longer bound by societal mental and physical subjugation but rather freed of its own volition. The cage signifies a system of racial narratives controlling the histories of African American life experiences. I envision the bird as an African American people freed from past and present perils of mindless oppressions, misrepresented social constructs, struggles, hate, fear and any other societal or internal affliction against equality, progression, identity, achievement, and wellbeing. It is my hope that "Unbound" conveys the charge so eloquently spoken of by Amanda Gorman to not fear our fears (of oppression) but rather own and free them (2021).
