The artwork features a bold, stylized portrait of a Black man against a vibrant pink background. The composition emphasizes the subject's strong facial features, with distinctive dark tones and sharply defined contours that create a striking, almost minimalist aesthetic. The overall impression is one of power and intensity, enhanced by the artist's skilled use of color and geometric shapes. This work appears to be part of a larger body of portraiture that seeks to celebrate and elevate the humanity and dignity of the Black experience. ...
Deniz Pasha is a Turkish-Sudanese artist whose practice includes painting, print-making, performance, and installation. She explores the ongoing impact of the Ottoman Empire's treatment of African individuals, specifically as it relates to the experiences of immigrants and migrants currently living in Turkey. Using portraiture, symbolism, and motifs, Pasha highlights the ways in which the historical exploitation of African labor is mirrored in the marginalized and hidden lives of immigrant workers in Turkey. By using critical race theory, she examines the labor practices and laws impacting contemporary African immigrants, and aims to shed light on the experiences and perspectives of marginalized communities. Her artistic process is deeply influenced by intellectual thought and literature, and drawing inspiration from writers such as August Wilson and Toni Morrison, she conducts research, artistic and poetic thinking emerges, leading her to start sketching. This process results in a diverse collection of portraits that are connected by a common thread, forming a cohesive and synergistic body of work.
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