Black Art and Representation
‘I would like to see more Black joy and our culture in vibrant colors instead of this melancholy filter they put on us.’
LONDON — Art is a universal language. It brings people together from all over the world, despite cultural differences and language barriers. People can look at a piece of art, whether it be a painting or an abstract sculpture, and share the same sentiments. While there are happy moments depicted in art and thought-provoking pieces that stir conversation amongst art lovers, there are also pieces that portray traumatic events in the past. And those pieces can often cause underlying emotions of the past to resurface for certain people, especially Black people.
Art has played a large role in the Black community, particularly in London. From graffiti murals on Brick Lane, to paintings of different leaders and figures in Brixton — it’s something that has bonded the community together for decades.
Art museums in the UK have been becoming increasingly inclusive when it comes to displaying Black art and shining a spotlight on Black artists. However, the Black art that has been displayed in these museums often depicts scenes of racial injustices of the past, slavery and segregation. This is an issue that has come to the attention of many Black artists because they feel as if the Black art being displayed lacks variety in terms of the representation of the Black community and its history.
Painter and tattoo artist Rudson DeSilva was born in Rio, Brazil but has been living in the UK for the past 15 years and creating around London. He paints murals for coffee shops and trendy stores, designs tattoo art for customers and also tattoos them. In his free time, you can find him on the corner of vibrant and lively Camden Market just creating art on canvases for people to purchase on the spot.
“Art is my life, it’s my love language, it’s who I am,” he says. “I know it’s not good to give yourself a single title in life, but art is a multifaceted thing. It’s unpredictable and fun and so much more. I’m okay with the Artist title.” DeSilva has been creating since he was in grade school in Brazil, winning art competitions was like clockwork for him. His art and talent speaks for itself.
“As a Black man, I try not to make any of my art about traumatic and negative moments in the Black community because there’s too much of that going on,” says DeSilva. “I do appreciate the inclusivity and awareness that the art museums here are trying to display but it would be even better for them to showcase our winning moments because we have so much happiness and positivity ingrained in our culture.”
Prestigious art museums in the U.K., such as the Tate Modern, have multiple exhibits dedicated to Black artists. However, most of the art is about the injustices that the community has faced along with graphic videos of slavery and segregation of the past.
“I understand where they are trying to go with this but I’m tired of constantly seeing us portrayed like this,” says Brianna Awani, a Black woman speaking on the Ernest Cole exhibit at the Tate Modern. The Ernest Cole artwork shows different photos of Black people being mistreated during the apartheid era in South Africa, and there are six different photos showing different perspectives of the same injustice.
“I would like to see more Black joy and our culture in vibrant colors instead of this melancholy filter they put on us. We are happy people, and as a Black woman, it doesn’t make me feel good to see all this sadness in such a huge museum,” says Tabitha Basia.
Black trauma has been shown in all forms of art including film as well. Movies such as “12 Years a Slave,” “The Help,” and “The Color Purple” are a few movies that highlight the hardships that Black people have experienced. And although it’s important for everyone to be aware of the social injustices of the past and present, it’s not all that Black people are.
Black culture is so beautiful and unique because Black people always rise above from the hardships and continue to live their lives freely, despite the microaggressions that they face on a daily basis. There are tons of positive Black heroes and heroines that we look up to because they look just like us. We are proud of our skin, and our hair, and our struggles, which is what needs to be shown more in art museums.
There are plenty of Black artists who don’t focus on the traumatic history of the Black community, who don’t get acknowledged enough, such as children’s book illustrator Errol Lloyd who has done artwork for dozens of children’s books. Another is Amina Jama — a London-based Somali-British writers who is the author of several children’s books about immigration and the beauty of having a dual background.
“It seems as if the Black struggle is glamorized and that’s an issue that I have with a lot of art museums because they don’t do that with any other race,” says DeSilva. “I hope in the future these directors start shedding light on our love for our culture and one another because that’s what’s worth seeing.”
