Fragility
ceramics, 2021
Uncovering Identity
Incidents of Identity, 2021 , bookshelf, books, tar, acrylic paint, 39” x 37” x 10”
Consuming, 2021 , digital media series, 23” x 18”
Black Liberation Flag Quilt, 2020, soft textile , 4’ x 6’
Built by Black History (Coffee table), 2021, plaster, wood, paint, 17” x 35” x 20”
Growing Pains, 2020-2021, Ceramic, Dimensions variable
These Days, 2020, Inkjet prints, Dimensions Variable
Utilizing multiple mediums, including ceramics, photography, digital collage, soft textile, and sculpture, my work addresses themes of resiliency through the exclusion and (mis)representation of black bodies and their contributions within America’s historical narrative. Within this investigation of cultural identity, I am interested in looking inward into notions of self through the lens of my black body.
In the installation Uncovering Identity, I aim to encapsulate a living room, reminiscent of one in my grandmother’s home, as a means to elaborate and comment on what is often one of the most central spaces in constructing one’s identity. A bookshelf titled, Incidents of Identity, filled with white books covered in tar highlight the exclusion of black bodies within white-washed literature. Black and white digital media series titled, Consuming, draw attention to the consumption of blackness. A quilt titled Black Liberation Flag drapes over a couch, reclaiming a history of quilting that is also asserting themes of community and care. The United States shaped coffee table held up by black hands in front of the couch is to represent the ongoing contributions made by black people that go unseen yet serve as foundations for this country. Planter vases throughout the room are metaphorical for the black bodies that’ve been stretched to their limits while still being vessels capable of function and growth The installation intends to] disrupt and dismantle a complicated and often racist history in the U.S. that has failed to offer an accurate representation of me as well as other people of color.
Solace in Nature,
2020, photograph(left), plaster, lighter fluid, lighter, paper
Amidst all the problems the world continues to face, a safe space for me are ones that are quiet, and a place I can always return to are ones that are in nature, I find myself the most calm, and anxiety free, alone in nature.
James Bullock Art 