Amerfrica
Amerfrica: An amalgamation or Pangea of Africa (where I am a descendant) and America where I am from (nationality). I made this because I have grown to dislike the term African-American. It’s a blanket term to describe people of African descent. When in reality majority of Black Americans have never been and some most likely will not ever visit our birthplace. African and Black culture are two different things entirely and giving us the same designator is not only annoying but also minimizes Africa as a country when in actuality it is a continent with 54 countries.
As a Black American I feel we as a people can be lost at times because we have no shared language except our creation of ‘slang’ which is largely commercialized in pop culture. we were stripped of our culture and language when were enslaved and the culture we have created is ‘mainstream’ and picked apart by the grazers and vultures. What do we have left? This might be an engraving to some but to others that might feel the same way I do this is a message of the ways we can rethink what it means to be a African descended person living in America.
We’ve been through so many racial name changes... why not create a new one? Some Black people don’t like the term ‘Black’ (which is another problem in itself) but one could argue we come in ALL different shades and hues so just giving us a color is not enough... that’s all I’m going to say. That has been on my mind for awhile, now I have a visual representation of it. I would like to really get a dialogue going with other Black people one day to get other POVs.
Material: Wood panel engraved (2019), etching upgraded to epoxy sculpt to create a raised effect. Silver and black acrylic paint.
This piece is 24x24in.
Amerfrica: An amalgamation or Pangea of Africa (where I am a descendant) and America where I am from (nationality). I made this because I have grown to dislike the term African-American. It’s a blanket term to describe people of African descent. When in reality majority of Black Americans have never been and some most likely will not ever visit our birthplace. African and Black culture are two different things entirely and giving us the same designator is not only annoying but also minimizes Africa as a country when in actuality it is a continent with 54 countries.
As a Black American I feel we as a people can be lost at times because we have no shared language except our creation of ‘slang’ which is largely commercialized in pop culture. we were stripped of our culture and language when were enslaved and the culture we have created is ‘mainstream’ and picked apart by the grazers and vultures. What do we have left? This might be an engraving to some but to others that might feel the same way I do this is a message of the ways we can rethink what it means to be a African descended person living in America.
We’ve been through so many racial name changes... why not create a new one? Some Black people don’t like the term ‘Black’ (which is another problem in itself) but one could argue we come in ALL different shades and hues so just giving us a color is not enough... that’s all I’m going to say. That has been on my mind for awhile, now I have a visual representation of it. I would like to really get a dialogue going with other Black people one day to get other POVs.
Material: Wood panel engraved (2019), etching upgraded to epoxy sculpt to create a raised effect. Silver and black acrylic paint.
This piece is 24x24in.
Amerfrica: An amalgamation or Pangea of Africa (where I am a descendant) and America where I am from (nationality). I made this because I have grown to dislike the term African-American. It’s a blanket term to describe people of African descent. When in reality majority of Black Americans have never been and some most likely will not ever visit our birthplace. African and Black culture are two different things entirely and giving us the same designator is not only annoying but also minimizes Africa as a country when in actuality it is a continent with 54 countries.
As a Black American I feel we as a people can be lost at times because we have no shared language except our creation of ‘slang’ which is largely commercialized in pop culture. we were stripped of our culture and language when were enslaved and the culture we have created is ‘mainstream’ and picked apart by the grazers and vultures. What do we have left? This might be an engraving to some but to others that might feel the same way I do this is a message of the ways we can rethink what it means to be a African descended person living in America.
We’ve been through so many racial name changes... why not create a new one? Some Black people don’t like the term ‘Black’ (which is another problem in itself) but one could argue we come in ALL different shades and hues so just giving us a color is not enough... that’s all I’m going to say. That has been on my mind for awhile, now I have a visual representation of it. I would like to really get a dialogue going with other Black people one day to get other POVs.
Material: Wood panel engraved (2019), etching upgraded to epoxy sculpt to create a raised effect. Silver and black acrylic paint.
This piece is 24x24in.
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