Dawolu Jabari Anderson and Donna Huanca Working It Out

“The Buffalo Soldier series, the Children’s Read-A-Long Story Books and the Zebra series are three new bodies of large-scale drawings connecting the perception of the past with the reality of the present, through elaborate narrative structures. In my work, there is juxtaposition between the vernacular of contemporary graphic design and historical perspectives rendered in paint, marker, charcoal, baked cocoa and cosmetic make-up on paper.

The Buffalo Soldier series is an assessment of the historical relationship betweenAfrican-Americans and Native-Americans. The Buffalo Soldiers have been aggrandized by a systematic selection process intended to obscure the history of the developed relationship between the Native-Americans and African slaves that was threatening to an early form of homeland security.

The Children’s Read-A-Long Story Book is a fictitious narrative of the Black PantherParty titled “Black to the Future.” This piece references a Black Panther coloring book created by the FBI’s COINTELPRO that was mass-produced and distributed acrossAmerica with the intention to sabotage the voice and credibility of the BPP organization.

The word “Zebra” is in reference to the 70’s TV sitcom “The Jefferson’s”, a term coined by the lead character, George Jefferson. In the context of the series the term refers to the offspring of a black and white interracial couple. This series of drawings explore facial imagery amongst people of color within the fashion and entertainment industries. I am interested in the selection process that customarily uses Eurocentric facial features, as points of references for people of color.”