Sex Crimes Against Black Girls

Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation is breaking the silence on the taboo subject of sexual violence and exploitation within the black diaspora, with its bold introduction of “Sex Crimes Against Black Girls,” a multimedia art exhibit that opened Saturday, February 5th, at The Skylight Gallery.

New Orleans native Shantrelle P. Lewis -- who also has curated for MOCADA and served as director of exhibitions and curator for The Caribbean Cultural Center Diaspora Institute and The McKenna African-American Arts Museum – said she was inspired to do this exhibit in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and because of her own experience as an incest survivor.

“New Orleans is known as a jovial city -- even in death, we celebrate. But there are so many issues underneath all of that,” said the 32-year-old Lewis, who is also a Bed-Stuy resident. “After Katrina, everything that had been hidden and swept under the rug within our homes and communities was brought to light. So after the storm, I felt compelled to share my own story, and I felt it was time to give other women that same opportunity.”

The exhibition includes a mixed bag of installations by women of the African diaspora. From oil on canvas, to some mixed media, from collages and poems, to digital prints, the show is diverse, bold, violent and at turns, subtle, complicit and emotional.

Lewis has chosen ten artists – Nyoka Acevedo, Kimberly M. Becoat, Frances Bradley, Delphine Fawundu-Buford, Numa Perrier, Monique Schubert, Alexandria Smith, Wahala Temi, Noelle Lorraine Williams and Tracee Worley – each of whom either have elected from an existing collection or created original pieces that speak to varying elements of their own experience with female exploitation.

“If I were to do this exhibit and just highlight each piece individually, each piece could stand on its own. And I can’t say that about any other exhibit I’ve ever curated,” said Lewis. “These are all strong artists at very exciting points in their careers. A lot of them are exhibiting nationally, internationally. They’re getting major recognition.”

In the life-sized oil on canvas painting entitled, “Zip,” artist and Bed-Stuy resident Frances Bradley, 26, introduces us to a familiar little black girl (you’ve seen her at the grocery store or walking home from school) who is shrinking amongst a crowd of men and women with exaggerated, almost grotesque, body affects (long limbs, bulging eyes and lips). A large, heavy zipper serves as the little girl’s mouth. Her eyes sag with sadness. And she is frightened, frozen in place.

“She’s at a paranoid stage after she’s been violated and taken advantage of,” said Bradley of the little girl. “So it’s like, she thinks everybody knows or is looking at her in some type of way."

"When I had this vision, I was tapping into my emotions, how I walked around thinking, ‘who’s looking at me?’ It takes a while to heal.”

Artist Delphine Fawundu Buford produced black and white digital prints entitled, “Speak No Evil," ode to the popular depiction of three monkeys that cover their eyes, ears and mouth. The little girl in her photos does the same. And what could easily come off as trite, somehow crackles with brand-newness, as she re-casts the idea in a living context.

“The little girl in me remembers that sex was something taboo; to remain good, I was not to speak of it, listen to talk of it, and cover my eyes at the sight of it,” said Buford. “So, if some part of my sexual being felt violated, what was I to do? This is for all the good girls whether 5 or 95, scream evil!”

Whereas some installations exude a cathartic loudness, others display a gentle disquiet.

In artist Alexandria Smith’s paintings, "The Sweet Hereafter" and “The First Communion,” her little girl subject seems always caught in a still moment inside of her own house. Infused with sexual innuendo, her paintings remain wide open for interpretation. But you will agree on the feeling: uneasy.

“I work backwards,” said Smith, 29, who is also a teacher and a Bed-Stuy resident. “An image pops up, whether it’s a dream or me thinking about my own past, and I just paint it. Instead of trying to figure it out first, I just go with it, without assigning a meaning to it.”

 “And then, I let the viewer bring his or her own interpretation and analysis to the work,” said Smith. “I like that every time a viewer looks at the piece, whether it’s the first, second or tenth time, there’s still a level of engagement.”

Smith said, sex crimes against young black women are a huge problem, one that has not been tackled in visual art as a collection this way before.

"It’s taboo to talk about sexual identity, because of fear. We don’t want to talk about it because we think it will bring it to life, when in fact, it’s already there. But talking about it helps people understand that they are not alone,” said Smith.

With so many different interpretations on the same theme, you see pain from different angles and hear their voices at various octaves. And although visual, this exhibit, indeed is more about the voices.

Whether you are an incest survivor or not, you can appreciate what these artists are trying to tell us: Little black girls are hurting, and it has been kept a secret for far too long.

“Restoration and Skylight Gallery have been so supportive of this project since the beginning,” said Lewis. “I think, as an institution, they are brave and courageous to even tackle this issue. Because it is something extremely subjective. But it touches so many of us.”

Skylight Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday, from 11:00am to 6:00pm and Saturdays, from 1:00pm to 6:00pm

The Exhibit's Official Opening Reception is Thursday, February 17th, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm