SKIN TONES
This series was first published in The Washington Post Magazine as the “Visualize Racism” Series, December 2019.
Despite the universality of one’s desire for freedom and acceptance, achieving that desire takes on a very different meaning based upon one’s culture, race, and the tonality of our face. Skin Tones is an art project that examines the notion that an individual’s perception of themselves is inherently tied to one’s skin color, and this in turn determines one’s perception of others. It influences bias on a personal level, and bias across races at a macro level. Race and Racism go hand-in-hand, back-and-forth in different directions.
Skin Tones visualizes this idea, through the use of color blocks—based on the human skin tone set. The faces are presented as fragmented forms, and are intended to ask “What is racism these days?” Do he words “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” etched at the base of the Statue of Liberty, still hold true? And as we respond to people seeking freedom and acceptance both within and outside the borders of the United States, how do matters of race come into our responses?
In combining multiple face to form a collection of images, I wanted to look at the interconnected nature of our skin, its tonality and the perceptions we have of ourselves as well as the perceptions others have of us. In doing that, I juxtaposed many ethnicities- and also the many facets and faces of racism.