It has been almost a year now since two of my portraits were selected for the exhibition “A Choice of Weapons”.
For me it was already a great honor to be chosen from hundreds of artists for an exhibition honoring the legendary Gordon Parks, who made history in the 1960s not only as a photographer, but also as a musician and filmmaker.
To meet artists from all over America during the opening reception was wonderfully inspiring.
The fact that my frizzy hair portraits would be among those of many other talents was more than good enough for me. I would have been content if my pieces had hung in a corner of nowhere, so you can imagine what went through my mind when I saw that one of my pieces was the center piece!
To the right of a beautiful painting by Gordon Parks was Crown of Locs, the photo I had taken at the International African Festival a year earlier. Upon entering, it was one of the first pieces that caught your eye. People immediately walked up to it, often asking who the piece was by. As modestly as I could, I explained who I am, why I take photos of kinky hairstyles and even how I had taken the photo. What a wonderful feeling it was to see the emotions the portrait aroused in visitors and the stories that were immediately exchanged.
The exhibition was a huge success. The turnout was much larger than expected, which only made it more enjoyable. When I was given the floor and said that no one there probably knew where Suriname was, I was almost right. Indeed, I saw people thinking Suri-what and some asked, but then photographer Mel Wright stepped forward and said: Not only do I know where it is, I've been to Suriname! Of course, I could never have imagined that either. Here are some photos and the video to give you an idea.
The Pursuit of Nappiness tells more about my photos and this exhibition.
See here the Photo collection for the Commemoration of Slavery Past