Within Darkness

The collection Within Darkness proposes the welcoming of creative stages that are in darkness, the often difficult and initial tasks that we must undertake when we are learning something new, experimenting, desiring change, or looking for solutions. These works are also a homage to Audre Lorde’ by referencing her poems “Now that I am forever with child,” “A Litany for Survival,” and “A Woman Speaks” in each artwork’s title. 

These paintings were done by Helena when she was three years old. She used edible, non-toxic paint on paper with brushes and her hands. I added white and black lines using acrylic pen on the paintings, then digitized them into a black background.

To paint with a young child is to accept the messiness and the whole-body exploration of materials. Through this making process, I found resonance with Lorde’s call for creativity: “...we must never close our eyes to the terror, to the chaos which is Black which is creative which is female which is dark which is rejected which is messy which is… Sinister, smelly, erotic, confused, upsetting…”