the “pOC” series…
2021
The term ‘People of Colour’ has always felt problematic to me, brazenly monolithic when used poorly. A way of applying a not-so-sticky and slightly useless plaster to the many problems faced by ALL non-white people… regardless of how varied the issues and wounds are. It feels to me the messy amalgamation of varied sociopolitical labels and lenses past and present.
This series of numbered rather than named portraits depicts individuals who all fit under the umbrella term. It addresses the term very literally as well as the obscure ways in which we are seen… or not seen. Every mark or lack thereof is intentional.
An article by Joshua Adams deciphered my scrimmage with the term rather well: “POC replaces the outdated term “coloured people” with one that is more palatable. It allows for a kind of political solidarity between non-White citizens of the country and the rest of the world. It acknowledges how racism and White supremacy affect people from many groups, not just Black people, and is a platform for their collective shared experiences and concerns. However, it has its limits — and that’s why we need to stop saying “people of colour” when we mostly (and sometimes only) mean “Black people.”
…
James Baldwin once said, “The plea is simple — look at it.” Words can be a mirror that reflects the world as it is, or they can be prisms that have the potential to amplify but also to distort. Our struggle as a society is to find mirrors. But maybe my simpler plea is for people to know one thing: It’s okay to call me Black. And if you feel it isn’t, I still insist that you do.”
