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A Study of the African Diaspora Through Visual Art and Written Word
A Study of the African Diaspora Through Visual Art and Written Word
In the pieces seen below, I have purposefully represented black people across the African Diaspora through written word and visual art mediums as powerful, dynamic, and noble people despite the oppressive forces of colonialism and white supremacy throughout history.
About the Artist
About the Artist
Artist and writer, Alexandria “Ally” Payne, is an artist and writer currently creating work in Corinth, Texas. She attended the Selwyn School in Argyle, Texas, and created art in the school’s Fine Arts Program for four years (2020-2024). Next fall, she will be taking her talents to Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, to study Creative Writing in the Writing, Literature and Publishing Program. This is her first gallery opening.
Gallery Exhibition: May 13th-20th 2024
Walking Royals Collection
Textiles, 2023, White high-top shoes, embroidery thread, fabric, leather paint, wire
Between the years of 1948 - 1994, the colonized country of South Africa underwent a 46 year apartheid where the native South African people were segregated (in underfunded neighborhoods and public resources) from the wealthy European colonizers. Similar to segregation between black and white Americans (1896 - 1964), South Africans utilized art as propaganda to promote their ideas of equality. While American Civil Rights activists used photography and typography to create posters for protest marches, South Africans, black and white alike, also spray painted anti-segregation graffiti and murals in public spaces. In the United States, the word graffiti often has a criminal connotation whereas in South Africa, graffiti was utilized by peace-makers to create change in their country; this became my source of inspiration for this piece.
For this project, I chose to create with (1) white converse shoes, (2) basic embroidery supplies (multi-colored thread and needles), (3) acrylic paints (black and gold) and (4) thin markers for fine text. When choosing a medium to embroider on, I gravitated towards hightop Converse shoes because I wanted this piece to be worn in the streets, at the heart of graffiti culture.
Each side of both Converse are embroidered with different images, texts and symbols, but from every angle, this piece promotes equality, condemns racial segregation, and reminds the viewer that the South African people are still walking royalty. On the exterior of the left shoe, I created my own symbol (SoAF), an abbreviation of “South Africa,” using black and gold thread while the interior of the left shoe highlights a couple commonly recognized symbols across Africa. The exterior of the right shoe is Nelson Mandela’s well-known quote “let there be justice for all” embroidered on dark blue jean, a material commonly associated with street fashion, and the interior of the right shoe is embroidered with the South African flag. The words “no apartheid” is intentionally written on the back (heel) of the shoe, so that when the person wearing the shoes walks away from a person/conversation, the last part of the shoes the viewer sees is the concluding message which states, “no apartheid,” in gold and red street style text. Around the rubber bottom of both shoes, the black and gold painted triangles formulate a crown to represent that, despite black South Africans' oppression and unfair treatment in their own country, they are still walking royalty.
Noble Woman
Senior Thesis, 2024
Acrylic Paints
16 in x 20 in
For the subject of this in-progress piece, I was inspired by the black nobility of Europe. In most portraits commissioned by white families during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, black people were often placed in the back of the portrait or were posed kneeling reverently towards white families as if they were deities rather than abusive slave masters. So, for this portrait I wanted a black noble woman to be the center, looking powerfully at the viewer with dignity and poise. When finished, the woman’s hair will be styled in a half-up half-down style with cornrows and her curly hair on display. Also, pieces of gold painted aluminum will be placed in a pattern in the background to represent the opulence and wealth of the black elites at the time.
My Hope
Senior Thesis, 2024
Stoneware Clay
9.5 in x 3 in x 6.5 in
“Still I Rise” Earrings
(Prototypes: Sculpture and Ceramics 1, 2022) Final: Experimental Methods, 2024
Gold and Silver Wire
Dimensions
From this first written piece of Maya Angelou’s to inspire me, I created wire earrings that reflect the unapologetic statements Angelou makes in the Still I Rise poem about not allowing people's words or wrong beliefs about you to tear you down. The verse “weakened by my soulful cries' ' in the middle of the poem inspired the teardrop shape, which is molded out of gold wire. I chose gold specifically to outline the teardrop shape because to me, the color represents the strength and fortitude in the tone of the poem. The word “rise” is the key theme in Angelou’s piece, so I decided it was important to feature RISE in the center of the falling, gold tear.
Cardboard Shoes
Experimental Methods, 2024
Cardboard, Hot glue, Black Paint
(5) 3.5 in x 10 in x (4 in-6 in based on shoes)
Together, We Were Free
Experimental Methods, 2023
Canvas (size), acrylic paints, patterned fabric, thread, embroidery needle, newspaper printouts
16 in x 20 in
Untitled Portrait with Scarf
Foundations of Art, 2020
Pencils on paper
8.5 in x 11 in
Underground Railroad Textile
Textiles, 2023
Dark blue, blue, mustard, red, and gray crocheted yarn
14 in x 60 in
Mind in the Clouds
Studio Art, 2021
White Charcoal on Black Paper
12 in x 9 in
Mind In the Clouds, a colored pencil piece, is a black-and-white surrealist self-portrait of the artist. The clouds replacing the subject's hair depicts the expression “head in the clouds” and represents the countless hours the artist spends in her imagination as an introvert and creative. This piece was completed in 2021 as an assignment for her “Studio Arts” course in the Fine Arts Academy at Selwyn School.
Untitled Fresco
Art History, 2023
Plaster of paris, water, chalk pastels
In this piece, I used plaster of paris, chalk pastels for pigment, and water - modern day materials - to create a portrait of a regal looking African-American woman with symbolism I created reflecting African-Americans' relationship with the United States generationally. The chains are both a physical depiction of the chains our ancestors were bound in during slavery and represent the connection we feel to each other through our collective experiences, struggles and triumphs as a race. Additionally, the sun rays above the woman's hair represent the hopefulness often found in the poetry we write, the hymns we sing, and the art we create about true freedom and equality in America.
In this piece, I used plaster of paris, chalk pastels for pigment, and water - modern day materials - to create a portrait of a regal looking African-American woman with symbolism I created reflecting African-Americans' relationship with the United States generationally. The chains are both a physical depiction of the chains our ancestors were bound in during slavery and represent the connection we feel to each other through our collective experiences, struggles and triumphs as a race. Additionally, the sun rays above the woman's hair represent the hopefulness often found in the poetry we write, the hymns we sing, and the art we create about true freedom and equality in America.
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