As some of you may know I was working on a project last year creating paintings and mixed media work based on my research of the parallel journey of Black/African Americans and Irish/ Irish Americans. The work will debut in San Francisco this summer in an exhibit titled “No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs”: A Parallel Journey.
I chose this title because I am interested in how at one point there was a particular historical intersection where these cultures were both considered second-class citizens. I am exploring the shared history of Irish American immigrants and African Americans beginning in the 1800's and how these historic relationships have evolved within contemporary American and Global Communities (such as South Boston & Africans in Ireland).
“No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs” was a statement often seen in windows of boarding houses and other public places in England in the early to mid 1900's according to my research, but its syntax is a poignant picture of the common social roots of these two cultures here in America as well. Signs similar to this were found here in the states such as, "Irish Need Not Apply". Thanks Case for helping inspire this body of work. In all of my work I hope to inspire us to make connections between our ancestors and ourselves,between one culture and another, between the community and the individual.
In this particular series I am combining my own work with historical imagery and documents, more to come....stay tuned.
Re-Historicizing the Black Man

Contrasted Faces: Re-Historicizing "Bridget"

The pieces below are works in progress



