Installation Work
LEON GALLERY
JULY 18-AUGUST 29, 2020
Photo Credit : Amanda Tipton
HUMAN CURRENCY
Human Currency is a collection of work that confronts institutional racism in the representation of the cowrie seashell. Each piece addresses a contemporary issue that signifies historical practices. This shell is the symbol of life and that female will be the change in the world. A simplistic form portrays a beautiful depiction as a metaphoric which is vocalized through the African perspective in artistic material.
ONE HUMAN’S WORTH
6,370 COWRIE SHELLS IN A BURLAP SACK
During the Atlantic Slave Trade, humans were trafficked and traded as one of the most valuable commodities to this day. When colonizers discovered that transactions were cheaper than exchanging muskets and metals for enslaved people, they began shipping cowrie seashells from Europe to Africa. According to National Geographic, “Each person bought for $100... was now worth $1000, and once acclimated could be sold for $2,000, or $60,000 in today’s dollars”. (Feb. ‘20, pg. 58) Although, currency was exchanged in a shell format, and this monetary system determined how much any African person was worth for exchange. The cost of a person fluctuates depending on the size and physical presentation of each individual. Even though the shells do not originate from Africa, they have been associated with African culture because of the historical weight.
FABRIC OF OUR LIVES
100% authentic cotton (handpicked from Walmart), burlap.
A cotton apron expressing the labor in American workplaces and the strenuous hustle to fabricate a fashionable aesthetic. The cotton is painful, but the skirt looks good.