TOKIE ROME-TAYLOR

"I am an Atlanta, Georage based photographer, interested in ethnography, identity and representation. My multimedia practice is grounded in the understanding that one’s self perception and sense of belonging in a society begins in childhood. Children are the subjects I use to speak of a sense of belonging. These images of Black and brown children re-examine history and tradition, through photographic portraits that counter the propaganda of inaccurate stereotypical, subjugated, and inferior historical depiction of people of color. They represent a visual elevation that had been omitted from mainstream 'western history.'

Questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research that probe material, spiritual, and familial culture of ancestral descents of southern slaves are entry points for me to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language within my work. My work positions black bodies in a space that leans into the past, reaching back to address the erasure of worth in how black bodies are perceived and represented. These traditions that we were able to preserve- such as the passing down of objects, making offerings to ancestors, and the use of material objects as spiritual devices, allow the resurrection of power and autonomy once denied. My work stands in direct defiance of that erasure. Denied access to traditional materials and practice in the Americas, a creolization of symbolic elements of European status and wealth have been utilized to visually connect to ancestral practice of adornment and spirituality. I make no attempt to recreate the past, rather to create images that combine elevation and connection to diasporic practice. They stand strong, weaving together adopted western trappings of wealth and status with symbolic representations of their cultural, historical, and spiritual connections.

The Canon R5 digital camera is both my method of creating raw material, the photograph itself, and my method of creating frozen moments in imagined historical time. In the studio, I compose the photograph to capture layering of person, textures, and objects. I am currently working on a body of work that integrates the sitter’s family heirloom, and its symbolic meaning to the family. By centering this heirloom the imagined histories and the real histories of these children's families collide.

The photographs are created with children exhibiting wisdom and self-awareness beyond their visible years, conjuring notions of passed down ancestral knowledge. I incorporate found items that contain a history of people in the past, that are domestic, and somewhat nostalgic. Family heirlooms of the sitters are also incorporated, adding their historical meaning and value to the images. The objects are literal family heirlooms or selected items by me that are reminiscent of them, evoking familial connections and the memory. The sitter, in combination with the objects, creates a dialogue regarding their dynamics in history. The use of fabrics and rich materials, as well as the layered directional lighting are inspired by renaissance paintings, who historically did not depict people of color. If they were included, they were typical only as background elements within the works. In this way, I continue to combat the erasure and omission of black bodies, framing them in a position of elevation. After creating the images in camera, they are further manipulated digitally. I use multiple layers, painting in light and shadow, as well as color grading, to create a painterly image. Further manipulation may come in the form of archival images digitally collaged within the piece, using the image as a digital negative for cyanotype or as the base image for physical manipulation via embroidery, beading, gold leafing on vellum or encaustic. The use of beading, embroidery, gold leafing, and wax are all inspired by the materials used in creation and adornment of clothing within traditional West African culture. I explore mediums and layering in order to grant myself freedom from the expectation of how a photograph should ultimately exist."