My very first short was made at the start of the BLM protests which impacted me greatly and needed an outlet to kind of give all these emotions a place. My starting point was the first chapter of Fearing the black body by Sabrina Strings called “Becoming Venus”.
When talking about the Venus we can all bring forth imagery of renaissance paintings depicting the goddess, like the famous Birth of Venus by Botticelli. These representations have formed a standard of what was perceived as beautiful during that era and which still effects the ideals of the present. The canon however lacks a sense of representation in particular regarding black women. Even though they were included, mostly as servants but also as muses in their own right depending on the region and time.
Here I am trying to lend a voice to thee Black Venus, inspired by a black Venus sculpture discussed within that first chapter. She speaks on the duality of existing yet not being present and taking hold of your own narrative.
Released in June 2020 on @meow__wolf
The illustration titled “The Black Venus Breaking Her Silence” was based on the essay “The transformation of Silence into Language and Action” by Audre Lorde. I got inspired by the message of death being the ultimate silence and how breaking this silence can be a source of power and how this can help with overcoming your fears. How it gives you the opportunity to keep hold of your sense of individuality and can form connection with others. So of course I had to put the Black Venus in the spotlight once more.