Ripped from their homes, families and culture, natives of Africa were long ago scattered throughout the world by hostile slave traders.
"Diaspora," a word that has come to connote the displacement of indigenous peoples, explores the effects of this brutality that still echoes today in an art exhibit on display through March 21 at the Center for the Arts Second Floor Gallery.
The exhibit, curated by UB graduate student Beverly Andrews, represents a collection of work from eight African American artists: Shaun Davenport, Tafawa Hicks, Earnest Hobbs, Deborah Jack, Clifton J. Jackson, III, Nicholle LaVann, Tiffany Lawrence and Beverly Andrews.
Twelve black and white photographs taken by Tafawa Hicks hung on one of the walls capture the beauty and disparities between ordinary people and places. In the style of social documentary, the photos evoke emotion through their simplicity and honesty.
One photograph, titled "Diaspora Child," depicts a wide-eyed child peering over his mother's shoulder. The image is a testament to the innocence of children, who are naive of the racism plaguing America and other nations.
Nicholle LaVann, a UB media studies major, contributed two of her works to the exhibit. La Vann says her work often deals with the issues of racism in America and domestic violence against women.
"I believe our voice is not heard enough or recognized," said LaVann. "It is my obligation as a black woman to say what I feel."
LaVann's piece, "The Political Revolution," is a powerful commentary on American life, justice and racial struggles in the form of an Egyptian obelisk. The form is covered by clipped photos of political prisoners, satirical cartoons depicting black panthers, policemen and the slave trade and pages from the book "Race, Evolution and Behaviour" by J. Phillipe Rushton.
In her video titled "Justice in America," LaVann overlapped black and white scenes of civil rights demonstrations with a monologue on racism spoken by a young black woman.
Of his own painting, "When Dreams Kiss," Shaun Davenport said he likes to hide images within images, in hope of opening the observer's mind.
The figure of a woman whose hair is composed of dark, writhing human bodies is set against a cosmic scene of neon green and deep blue. The woman, pale with blue eyes, has brown skin only where a few blocks overlay her face, suggesting an alternate reality.
"Middle Passage," a vivid oil painting by Earnest Hobbs, conveys the ghastly horror of the slave trade. It depicts a nude African woman, visible from her thighs to her neck and burdened by shackles. Lying down, her back is arched, her identity anonymous.
Deborah Jack's video, "We Are More," is a barrage of intense scenes of a woman running, dancing and examining herself.
Tiffany Lawrence's "He Said" and "I Am" are fantastic visual explorations of individual identity and being in a relationship.
In one corner of the gallery, musician Clifton J. Jackson III produced his audible art, incorporating poetry and different kinds of music, in keeping true to the exhibit's cultural theme.
Andrews exhibited her work in the show in addition to curating it. Her piece, "Tree Branch" is a pale, stripped tree branch suspended on invisible strings. Eerie fragments of plaster faces dangle from the branches and allude to the racial violence of lynching.
"It calls out to me of depression and solitude," said fellow featured artist Davenport. "It's beautiful."
