Release, A Black Woman’s Tears

Release. It is time for release. A Black Woman’s Tears series serves as a love letter and reminder to Black women that it’s okay for us to release what needs to be released. It is an invitation to dive deep into release. Whether it’s joy, laughter, pain, frustration, anger, sadness, softness, happiness, laughter, etc. with various life circumstances, infrastructures, and systems in place, there is an unspoken way of being where we suppress and withhold what we’re feeling and experiencing. This results in emotional and mental blocks that soon impact our physical wellbeing, and as the saying goes, the body keeps score. Many of us keep a lot of our experiences and feelings pent-up inside. This series questions what would happen if you released and expressed your excitement about that milestone? Or if you expressed the relief, you feel now that you’ve put some distance between you and that friend? With this body of work, I’m exploring individually and collectively what would happen if we were to unleash the floodgates and release what needs to be released, regardless of what it looks like. Each title encompasses the scenario of release. Focusing on interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships and dynamics that encourage introspection, reflection, and inspiration. The repetitive use of circles in different sizes creates shading, depth, and overall build of the figure. It provides elements of Zen, mesmerization, and whimsy. Regarding the feminine figure, it was important to me to create respectful and tasteful images of Black women in my work, due to their being an oversaturation and expectation to oversexualize the Black body.