A young black girl appears in two instances—in one, she is hunched over, her body and limbs, which bear the articulations of a puppet, are contorted, as outside forces (hands reaching down from inkblots at the top of the canvas) are in full control of her movements. In this composition, I really wanted to play with the gray area between society’s larger responsibility for the bad things that befall black girls, and what is believed to be the girls’ own complicity in their destruction. I felt that introducing this girl in puppet form would help me to frame this conversation.
A young black girl appears in two instances—in one, she is hunched over, her body and limbs, which bear the articulations of a puppet, are contorted, as outside forces (hands reaching down from inkblots at the top of the canvas) are in full control of her movements. In this composition, I really wanted to play with the gray area between society’s larger responsibility for the bad things that befall black girls, and what is believed to be the girls’ own complicity in their destruction. I felt that introducing this girl in puppet form would help me to frame this conversation.
There were certain unsettling moments in this drawing that I feel were significant in telling this girl’s particular story. For one, I always knew that her body would bear the fragile, flexible qualities of a puppet; but it was a split second decision during my first rendering that positioned the girl not only as decapitated, but also as holding her own head.
There were certain unsettling moments in this drawing that I feel were significant in telling this girl’s particular story. For one, I always knew that her body would bear the fragile, flexible qualities of a puppet; but it was a split second decision during my first rendering that positioned the girl not only as decapitated, but also as holding her own head.
I also knew that I wanted this drawing to be anchored by an outside symbolic force. A giant Black Widow spider was an early idea that wound up resonating for me increasingly as I mapped out this drawing. The Black Widow is nuanced in this composition; in one instance representing our dark, dangerous society seeking to trap and consume the girl, in another instance representing the black girl herself—the way our society sees her—as a toxic and threatening entity. I also imagined connections between the decorative linear designs in the musical score that I would incorporate into this drawing, and similar motifs in a spider’s web.
I also knew that I wanted this drawing to be anchored by an outside symbolic force. A giant Black Widow spider was an early idea that wound up resonating for me increasingly as I mapped out this drawing. The Black Widow is nuanced in this composition; in one instance representing our dark, dangerous society seeking to trap and consume the girl, in another instance representing the black girl herself—the way our society sees her—as a toxic and threatening entity. I also imagined connections between the decorative linear designs in the musical score that I would incorporate into this drawing, and similar motifs in a spider’s web.
In the final drawing, in one instance, the “puppet girl” is pictured carrying her own disembodied head with one of her hands, and with another, she hiking her dress dangerously high up her thigh—both of these actions she does only because she is powerless to resist the authority of the puppet masters above; they are “pulling the strings,” as it were, and forcing this gross performance of her broken body. Yet, because it is the girl exposing her own flesh, the question of her complicity is always at the forefront of the viewer’s mind.
In the final drawing, in one instance, the “puppet girl” is pictured carrying her own disembodied head with one of her hands, and with another, she hiking her dress dangerously high up her thigh—both of these actions she does only because she is powerless to resist the authority of the puppet masters above; they are “pulling the strings,” as it were, and forcing this gross performance of her broken body. Yet, because it is the girl exposing her own flesh, the question of her complicity is always at the forefront of the viewer’s mind.
In her second appearance, the image of the young girl is realized in a subject who only has a torso, but who lacks limbs to defend herself or run away. She is emblematic of the girl’s impending demise, and represents both the girl’s present reality and her murky future.
In her second appearance, the image of the young girl is realized in a subject who only has a torso, but who lacks limbs to defend herself or run away. She is emblematic of the girl’s impending demise, and represents both the girl’s present reality and her murky future.
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Girls' Gallery