HONOR: HIGH RESPECT, GREAT ESTEEM
About the Exhibition
For centuries, art has been used as a way of expression. We honor the expression of six Black Maryland-based women artists with HONOR, an exhibition co-curated by the Banneker-Douglass Museum and ArtFarm Studios.
HONOR celebrates Black women’s expression, acknowledging its joys and pains with storytelling and creativity.
You are encouraged to honor…
our true selves, our natural state
HONOR: THE SOUL
“Mahyue, the Bassa dialect (Liberia) for ‘girl’”- Sasha-Loriene
Inspired by inner child healing, Introspection represents my journey to reconnect with and nurture the little girl in me, affectionately known as Mahyue. In looking deeply within myself, the girl I tucked away in the past but always lived hidden within my works is now set free. Her stories define me as a woman, artist, and being. Because of her, I will continue to grow and flourish.
After Life (left) explores the Egyptian belief in resurrection based on the concepts of death, judgment, and eternity. The glow above the head represents the “ka” or life force while the hands represent judgment from the deity Anubis. If one’s soul is judged to be balanced, the spirit travels to an eternal utopia, represented by the wings.
Control is from Apatu’s “Spiritual Animal” series that explores the spiritual connection between humans and animals. In Control, wasps represent the titular theme of control. They climb over the subject's face to keep her eyes open, demonstrating the spirit’s desire to persevere.
(left: Abena Apatu, "After Life", Graphite and charcoal on paper, 2020)
Withered is from an in-progress series called “Clowns of Nature” which describes the impact that we as humans have on the environment around us, and on ourselves. In this piece, withered leaves surround the figure imitating a “ruffle” that clowns usually wear around their neck and dead birds hanging from the face portray the negativity we have towards other living creatures. As birds represent freedom, our impact confiscates that from not only other species but also humanity as well. Even though we are the ones to create such distraught in nature, we are also stuck between our own destruction we have created; making us the clowns of nature.
HONOR:
THE BODY
a physical home for the mind and soul (can be a complex site for Black women)
New Face, by Abena Apatu, presents a complex view of Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD, a mental illness that affects 2% of people, often causing them to fixate on a particular bodily flaw. Apatu’s subject is consumed with picking her skin and her eyes emit a knowing sadness.
People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder can develop other compulsive disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders. In a world where Black skin and womanhood are often seen as flaws, a healthy relationship between the body and the self becomes more necessitous. But, is there a difference between the body and the self?
Right: Abena Apatu, "Withered", Graphite and charcoal on paper, 2021.
“Duality exists within all things.” - Sasha-Loriene
These are two works from Sasha-Loriene’s “Mind You Well” series in which she examines herself as artist and muse. She explains, “Typically using other objects, persons, and subject matters as the focal point and never myself, these works represent core characteristics that resonate with my story. Each work and title describes the lessons I’ve learned, both positively and negatively.”
"I have never been able to 'fit in' when it came to other races because of the way I look, speak, and present myself. I have been someone who never had a 'clique' because I was 'too black' to hang out with only white people but came off as 'too white' to be friends with only black people. I have always been that social butterfly with all races, but end up having my own self who has themselves a clique. Black lives matter and our ethnicity/heritage is important"
What Nina loves about her culture is the fact that black women and men come in multiple colors which is quite beautiful. She believes that her race and ethnicity are important because, during these times, Black and African Americans are constantly being degraded by people who don't understand how important our race and ethnicity are and how our heritage dates back to the beginning of the human race. This piece was for a senior capstone project that shared the experience of minority students and for others to appreciate those around us.
“She’s too dark to wear that color.” - 2004 ERHS hallway
There is a pressure to fit a particular box or mold, especially as Black women - what we wear, how we style our hair, and what we do with our bodies. Drawing on an encounter overheard in highschool, I highlight the beauty of bright colors juxtaposed onto darker skin to encourage women to live confidently, loudly, and boldly in any palette.
laboring towards collective liberation
HONOR: THE MOVEMENT
FEATURED ARTISTS
Abena Apatu, Greta Chapin-McGill, Bria Edwards, Gina Marie Lewis, Sasha-Loriene, and Kennedy Trusty
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, Banneker-Douglass Museum Foundation, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, ArtFarm Studios, and Anthony Henry.
Credits:
Created with images by alimyakubov - "abstract oil paint texture on canvas, background" • alimyakubov - "abstract oil paint texture on canvas, background"