World Afro Day 2022

Shangwe · World Afro Day 2022

 

Hair Power (2020) ⓒ Nicole Moore

Hair Power
2020
Mixed Media Abstract Realism
8.25 x 11.7 inches

Today is World Afro Day, (WAD), founded on 15 September 2017, by London-based Michelle De Leon, as a platform for celebrating afro excellence and ending afro hair discrimination. WAD is about the education and empowerment of people with afro hair. 

To mark WAD 2022, I am sharing Hair Power, a piece of artwork I made as a result of being invited to participate as a panel speaker at a WAD event on 15 September 2020: 'Hair Today/Wear Tomorrow' where I read poems from my independently published anthology Hair Power Skin Revolution (2010). 

Nicole Moore (1970s)

Later that day, I posted a photograph of myself on Instagram, wearing an Afro, taken at Mount Pleasant Hotel gardens, in central London, where I lived/worked between 1976-1978 as a catering secretary. In the Instagram caption, I wrote: 'The more we challenge the stereotypes which seek to influence our lives, the more society will be forced to accept us on our own terms and that can only happen when we as Black people collectively share and confront our own fears of wearing our hair the way we want to.'

The Artistic Process

As a reference for Hair Power, I used my own afro comb for the design by literally drawing around it, thereby using the comb—a symbolic icon—as a geometric measuring tool in a similar way a ruler was used for the marking and positioning of the design. I then lightly sketched and interspersed the remaining elements of the composition at different angles to display the afro combs as a central, focused and unified entity. I used Crayola Super Tips and a black V7 Hi-Tecpoint pen for fine lines.

The aim was to create an illusion of a three-dimensional form and shape by layering and overlapping the afro combs, placing them in an asymmetrical stylised arrangement to arrive at a more dynamic outcome, one that included a sense of rhythm of combs spiralling that led the viewer's eye to view the artwork at a focal point of visual unity and to then look elsewhere.

The idea of a Black Power fist evolved over a few days.  It made sense to incorporate this part of the image at the top to make a connection, not just with the power of afro hair, but with the history of how the Black Power fist became an icon overnight, when Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested on the podium at the 1968 Olympics, while the US national anthem was playing, refusing to salute while raising their fists up as they bowed their heads to symbolise Black Power.

Nicole Moore (2010) 

The rich, vibrant background colour scheme of gouache paint in red, yellow, and green was added to make Africentric diasporic cultural connections with the Rastafari flag, my Guyanese heritage, the history of wearing my hair in dreadlocks between 2006 and 2012, and wearing my hair in an Afro in the 1970s. These interconnections supported the artistic process. I also documented the art method by taking photos at different stages and by making audio recordings to capture my thoughts and feelings.

Afro Hair Discrimination

Afro hair discrimination is particularly rife, especially but not exclusively, in schools all over the UK, and continues to affect black pupils—girls and boys—who wear afro hairstyles such as dreadlocks, braids, afros, and cornrows. This is where the risk of damage to black pupils is greatest because not only do they have to deal with everyday racism in education, but they also have the double whammy of being discriminated against if they wear their afro hair in a natural style. 

Black pupils who wear their natural afro hair at school are seen as a 'problem' to be fixed and punished. This has a lot to do with the way that the British education system's historical ideology of fitting in with whiteness perceives the black child as a black body only, without any humanity and respect. If children enter the education system and the first reaction they get is that their hair is unacceptable, then this can jeopardise the young person's self-esteem, confidence and education; it can become a life-long sentence.  

Furthermore, it is not just children and young adults on the receiving end of Afro hair discrimination. Black adults wearing their natural afro hair are also perceived as 'unprofessional' in the corporate workplace. And even though the Equality Act 2010 protects individuals on the grounds of nine "protected characteristics" including race, age, religion and sexual orientation, the Act excludes hair from being named as a "protected characteristic". 

Education should first and foremost be about learning and empowering young people so that they move forward in society as best they can, seizing ambitious opportunities to develop their true potential. Education should not be about singling out black pupils because they want to wear their afro hair in natural styles.

Socially Acceptable

Thankfully, afro hair is becoming more socially acceptable. For example, the British advertising industry is working towards a more inclusive and diverse representation of the black image in its adverts and narratives. Images that portray black people wearing their afro hair in dreadlocks, afros, and braids are becoming the norm. This means black imagery of afro hairstyles has slowly but surely broken through the mainstream media. 

World Afro Day is part of a growing and developing movement that is working with schools in the UK to turn things around so that schools are educated on the intricacies of afro hair and how important it is not to single out their black pupils and make an example of them because they choose to wear their afro hair natural but instead encourage them to celebrate their natural locks with pride.

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Thanks for reading.

Make Art, Not War

Shangwe · Make Art, Not War

Make Art, Not War (2017) ⓒ Nicole Moore

Make Art, Not War
2017
Mixed Media Collage
8.3 x 11.7 inches

This month I wanted to feature Make Art, Not War , a mixed media collage made as part of a 2017 'Have You Made Art Today?' project to decorate my first sketchbook cover. In my case, it gave my sketchbook an identity. 

Recycled materials used were strips of red, yellow, and green wrapping paper, plus items from a Vogue Magazine — a red 'spiral' shape and an A4 size sheet of art text, which I cut up and rearranged vertically and horizontally. Also in the magazine was a small 'Make Art, Not War' image. I replaced this original image with a cutout copy of a headshot photograph of myself taken in the 1980s by a friend named Lennox. At the time the photograph was taken, I was holding Lennox's newborn baby daughter Kadesha, hence the smile! 

'Make Art, Not War' is a popular slogan for artwork; an alternative phrase inspired by the popular 1960s anti-war mantra, "Make love, not war." There are numerous examples of the 'original' 'Make Art, Not War' image on the Internet. 

My version of Make Art, Not War is both optimistic and political. In this current climate of war in numerous countries around the globe, it helps to take time to consider how we would like the world to be. Whilst making the artwork, I imagined how different our world could be if we made art, and made ourselves participate in creativity of all shapes and forms, rather than be at war, not only within the world but with the natural environment. 

What does peace mean to you?

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Thanks for reading.

Art Matters

Shangwe · Art Matters

Art Matters  2017 ⓒ Nicole Moore

 Art Matters
 2017
 8.5 x 12.5 inches
 Mixed Media Newspaper   Abstract Collage

This collage was made in an environmentally-friendly way, using recycled materials mounted on a used piece of cardboard, that was originally a parcel envelope.

The beauty of making a collage is that there are no rules, although 'good' composition is important in terms of harmony. Really, there are numerous ways of making a collage since you can assemble multiple textures, materials and colours; it is a fluid and flexible artwork process. You can even create new collages by reworking old ones, plus you can add paint. The sky's the limit!😊

Magazines & Newspapers:

For my Art Matters collage, I used a simple technique of tearing up pages from a copy of The Guardian Newspaper, pasting them over or near one another using a Liquitex Matte Gel medium, and applying surfaces in some kind of colour scheme. I selected the newspaper pages that drew me to them because of their cool blue and green tones, and then I added imagery of cars and people with umbrellas. The section where the traffic lights and buildings are placed upside down is deliberate. I paid less attention to the context and content of the newspaper pages. I was more interested in assembling shapes and creating something new. I did, however, choose the additional text/phrases carefully. The final piece is offered to the viewer as a long read.

Art Matters:

When I made the Art Matters collage (2017), it was the year after the then-Chancellor abolished maintenance grants for lower-income students. University student fees in England also increased from £9,000 to £9,250 in the same year for full-time students and from £4,500  to £4,625 for part-time students. 

As I reflect back on when I was a mature student studying for a BA degree at the University of Westminster in the 1980s, aged 28, I am grateful that not only did I have no fees to pay, but I also received a grant towards my living expenses. Those days are long gone. However, I haven't stopped valuing education, probably because of disruptions to my secondary education in the early days for all manner of reasons.  

Fast forward to modern times, and university fees continue to be barriers to higher education, and universities are run more like an enterprise than an educational place of learning. You can't blame the younger generation of potential students fresh out of school or college for being reluctant to apply for a student loan, knowing that they are going to end up in debt. The problem with this dilemma is that the arts and creative industries will end up being elite businesses, as we lose the dynamic and diverse pool of art students. And it's not just the arts that will lose the pool of talent. In all fields of potential graduate employment, the same will apply. 

Art Matters! It can communicate, inspire, motivate and educate. Visual art, in particular, has a dynamic power that enables anyone with access to a pencil and a sketchpad to express themselves in any way they desire. Art has helped me make sense of our complex world by giving me a language for my emotions that I may otherwise have struggled to put into words. Joy, sadness, rage — all can be expressed by the power of art. We need the arts in education to be open and accessible to all without the financial barriers of university fees and the burden of debt.

Comments welcome!

Thanks for reading.