The belief of a race being superior to another still pertains today even after the relentless efforts of our leaders past. There are five polemical statements which inherently became the foundation of our groups manifesto and I challenged or illustrated each of these statements in my work.

• We need to live in a world without borders
• Unified humanity is the future
• A soul is worth more than its skin
• All humans are our brothers and sisters
• You are one of Us

The motivation behind my work is to help catalyse the advocation of diversity by portraying the social tension between differences and commonality. By examining this tension, I am propagating the idea of togetherness, coexistence and celebration of differences. Change is a fundamental theme. The work emphasises the need for change, but also how change, in its multiple formats, has taken us further away from the inherent tolerance which exists in us all.

My work is driven by two personal incidents in the context of racism as whole; first, as a victim of racism and second, as a racist. My first three pieces are a response to the racism I faced in my hometown as well as abroad.

Borderless

This work is inspired by digital artist, Massimo Pietrobons 2012 work, ‘Pangaea Politica’ which takes a look at the world as it once was before all the tectonic plates shifted, as the supercontinent Pangaea. Using watercolour monotype printing techniques I have created a reinterpretation of Pangaea with its borders blurred but retaining each colour representing a different country in the world today. Here I am showing, coexistence, diversity, unity are a pre-historic feature of humanity. 

Coloured

‘Although most of the headlines capture the intergroup struggles of adults, (Racial and Ethnic) prejudice is expressed among children as early as 4 years of age (e.g., Aboud, 1988; Bar-Tal, 1996)’ My second piece addresses this research and at the same time highlights the urgency of educating children about racial diversity and how to respect differences. I have demonstrated this using the three Primary Colours, as they are the root of every other colour, in different proportions to signify the diversity within them.

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[1] Todd D. Nelson, Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination (2009)

Coexistence

My third monoprint deals with the idea of spreading awareness about racism in order to co-exist and accept the changing face of the future. When one individual is educated with the values of tolerance, diversity and togetherness, this infects others and enables the proliferation of changing social attitudes.

My final piece will be a response to a question I asked myself after creating the works above, “Am I a racist?” The images below are letters and illustrations from my sketchbook which answers this question. I am inspired by the works of Titus Kaphar an American painter whose work reconfigures and regenerates art history to include the African-American subject. I want to play with the idea of changing my past in a utopian world where differences are addressed and accepted and people are taught to value one’s soul over their skin at a young age.