The Promised Land - ArtPrize 2024 - Collins Gallery @ Grand Rapids Community College

Vote ID 25903 

The lineage of Black Americans involves relocations around the world and across the country, sometimes by choice and often under threat. Our end destination, a place where freedom in the truest sense exists, is yet to be realized, but always imagined. The Promised Land. 

 This project started with a water-damaged family photo album, created for me by my father. In the album were many unfamiliar faces from the side of my family I did not know well. All of my family is from Michigan, mother's side (Dutch) is from Zeeland/Holland and my father's (Black) from Benton Harbor. I was raised with little contact with my father's family. After living in the South, I became acutely aware of unbeknownst ancestors that had walked in these spaces. Extensive genealogy work revealed a twisted network of roads that lead from the coast, to the cotton fields of the Tennessee and Mississippi river valleys, up through Arkansas and straight to Benton Harbor, Michigan. Each ancestor I found brought new depth to my identity and many unanswerable questions. 

 I have long grappled with my identity. My art makes this process tangible. During my research, I traveled to many of the lands my ancestors once walked. I photographed these spaces extensively. As a way of codifying the stories and experiences from this journey, I created scenes using elements from a variety of sources including: family albums, personal photographic archives, and historical photographs. To help finalize my vision, scenes were supplemented with stock photography and AI generated elements. Elements were then animated and presented on a high dynamic range monitor to maximize visual impact. Each scene is named for and inspired by specific ancestors, their known and imagined stories as they look to find their Promised Land.