Kijah Woods: You don't see me
Artist Statement
This work explores the themes of softness, grace, and delicacy within Blackness. Often, when consuming media, people have unknown biases about Black people not being seen in this light. I want to challenge these biases by putting black people in this narrative to show that we belong in that space and deserve to be viewed in that space. The concept explores delicacy not as fragility, but as intentional gentleness, emotional depth, and refined beauty. These photos capture vulnerability and poise: soft expressions, floral spaces, and quiet moments of reflection. This body of work aims to present blackness as multidimensional, graceful, sensitive, elegant, and powerful in its calm. The idea for this project came from an art critique of a body of work on feminine themes. The language used to describe this work was “delicate and graceful ”. I thought to myself, “If the subject of the photo changed to a person of color, would the comment of the critique and the perspective of the photo change? If so, why would there be a difference, and would she still be seen as delicate? This shoot reclaims delicacy as a form of strength and offers a visual narrative where black people are not hardened by expectation, but embraced in their softness, beauty, and humanity.
About the Project
- Title of Work: You don't see me
- Medium: 24"x36" size canvas to display on the wall.
- Student's Name: Kijah Woods
- Major: Art
- Anticipated Graduation Date: 27-May
- Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
- Student's Mentor: Angela Shaffer
- Mentor's Department: Art
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