What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue

The exhibition What Did I Do to Become So Black and Blue? is a series of paintings that explores the protective yet self-betraying act of maintaining calmness. Through the concept of “cool posing,” Black Men have had to adopt superhuman personas in response to social and historical marginalization. The creation of this secret identity masks one’s emotions to maintain a state of internal peace and to thwart stereotypes of black masculinity. This fantasized tool for survival can be seen in heroic narratives throughout history, particularly in neoclassical paintings and sculptures of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and in today's comic books and films. This exhibition of paintings attempts to reimagine Black masculinity in its varied dimensions, creatively illuminating how societal conditions affect overlapping identities and mental health.