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The Complexion Complex

Installation: [120cm x 120cm x 200cm]

        It is well known that within the black community - indeed within all communities of colour - there is an unhealthy infatuation with complexion. The issue of colourism [prejudice or discrimination against individuals with dark skin tones within said communities] has been a hot topic in discussions of race for quite some time. This piece, inspired by a short poem that I stumbled across on social media, seeks to encourage dark skinned individuals to look upon their complexion with pride. The poem reads, "When she is told her skin is too dark; I do not hesitate to offer, that the sun loved her so much, it kissed her more than the rest of us.” 

        The artwork itself consists of sixteen miniature portraits of diverse black men and women; each one carefully and delicately painted. These portraits - and the unique skin tones of their subjects - are reimagined as chocolate bars with a wide variety of flavours. Embodying the sentiment of the aforementioned poem, 'The Complexion Complex' offers a multifaceted commentary on colourism with meaningful references to exoticism, pride, sensuality and self love. 

      However, the work has an interesting duality of meaning. The fact that colourism arose from (and remains deeply rooted in) historical atrocities such as the Atlantic Slave Trade does not go overlooked within the piece. White supremacist values were heavily enforced upon communities of colour when these atrocities took place, and these values are remain embedded within our systems, institutions and even our minds in the present day. There is a darker side to presenting the portraits as chocolate bars, which is deeply reflective of this oppressive period. Priced and packaged, the work also presents black people as exotic objects of commerce produced for white consumption in an act that mirrors the way slaves were stripped of their humanity and auctioned off to/by white slavers. While it is a deeply empowering act to present black people as deliciously flavoured bars of chocolate - as detailed previously - the act also highlights the sexualisation and excotification of these same individuals. 

       A simple search of “#Chocolate” on Instagram (which was the source for all the reference images I painted in this work) will render thousands upon thousands of images of black women. It is this Instagram tag that inspired me to choose chocolate over other foods, allowing me to create a piece that is culturally relevant in the present but also draws on the events of my community’s past. Even the packaging of the chocolate - which I myself designed and printed - is laden with references and significance to the overall meaning of the piece. 

        A melanin percentage on the front replaces what would traditionally be a cocoa percentage. A quality guarantee on the back serves as a reminder of the fact that these ‘chocolate bars’ were produced in various African countries, but made for distribution in the UK. Even the ‘nutrition information’ has been tailored to empower and uplift, with positive personality traits replacing the sugars and fats usually found in chocolate bars. I feel as though I have quite successfully created a deeply meaningful artwork with two clear modes of interpretation.