The theme of these three pieces is voice and diversity. Having no representation of Black people has been an issue for me my whole life, whether it be in my school communities, neighbourhoods, and friend groups. This rubbed off the impression that Black isn’t worth being represented, and that it is ugly. This is why I wanted to use this piece to shine light on a different type of beauty that is not recognized enough — Black beauty.

When glancing at the three pieces at first sight, what you see are three strikingly beautiful figures. When you take a closer look, there are deeper messages that shine light issues concerning the Black community. These issues are something that I as a Black individual have been affected by, but being present in multiple communities that are predominantly white, many people are blissfully unaware of these issues. The issues I focused on were cultural appropriation, police brutality and beauty double standards. The statements on each piece were phrased as questions, because I wanted to provoke people’s thoughts and make them look at each issue from a different perspective — one that they may have never considered before.

Despite the hardships and oppression that the Black community has been through, after a long journey of self-love, we still manage to find our confidence, and wear our Blackness with strength and pride. We are still beautiful, no matter what the media or anyone else says.