Kimberly Morris
Locs of Majesty, 2020
Signed and dated 2020
Synthetic hair
15 in. x 9 in. x 13 in.
What is beauty, what is beautiful to the world I live in today?
Being a multi-ethnic individual of Creole heritage has played an enormous role in
the way I view the world around me. I am of African and European decent; this
greatly influences the way I experience society. Through the lens of beauty, I
examine my position in the diaspora. The pressure of fitting into what majority
culture defines as normal, neater hair and constrictive body type casting dictate
my daily routine. Tangled in a mixture of black and white are the constant
changes in trends and standards layered onto the historical weight of my skin.
Black bodies and culture is heavily commodified, bought and sold since our
arrival to American shores. I am questioning the judgment that is placed on not
only me but on those who navigate the world with this same burden. For the
majority of black people hair has become a racial identifier, which speaks for us
before we have an opportunity to speak for ourselves. In thinking about my own
hair and my existence within the diaspora I often reflect on how my culture
influences my perspective. These works are physical manifestations of the
trauma that I have collected over the years.
Being a multi-ethnic individual of Creole heritage has played an enormous role in
the way I view the world around me. I am of African and European decent; this
greatly influences the way I experience society. Through the lens of beauty, I
examine my position in the diaspora. The pressure of fitting into what majority
culture defines as normal, neater hair and constrictive body type casting dictate
my daily routine. Tangled in a mixture of black and white are the constant
changes in trends and standards layered onto the historical weight of my skin.
Black bodies and culture is heavily commodified, bought and sold since our
arrival to American shores. I am questioning the judgment that is placed on not
only me but on those who navigate the world with this same burden. For the
majority of black people hair has become a racial identifier, which speaks for us
before we have an opportunity to speak for ourselves. In thinking about my own
hair and my existence within the diaspora I often reflect on how my culture
influences my perspective. These works are physical manifestations of the
trauma that I have collected over the years.