More than a century ago, renowned Black scholar and NAACP founding member W.E.B. Du Bois introduced us to “the veil.” The concept, first mentioned in a 1903 collection of essays titled The Souls of Black Folk, describes a psychological barrier between the Black and white community. Through the veil, white Americans struggle to see Black people outside of the narratives they create for them. Through the veil, Black Americans struggle with how they see themselves.
In her first solo exhibit at Left of Center Gallery, local artist and educator Q’shaundra James challenges us to look beyond that veil, aiming to address the stereotypes we perpetuate and the lens in which we view her art. In the early days, James’ portraits of Black subjects—from little girls in ballerina buns to chocolate-toned women with afros—would stop art critics cold, and for all the wrong reasons. The artist often fielded questions about why she was painting Black people at all. Was it a political statement? A portrait of Black struggle? Her stunning techniques always felt secondary.
“There were a lot of preconceived notions that it had to be about tragedy, abjection, Black trauma,” says James. “I had these expectations that were being put on me, and I hadn’t even found my voice as an artist.”
After discovering Du Bois’ teachings, James recognized what she’d been experiencing. To demonstrate, she created an installation for her exhibit, tasking participants to sit in a chair shrouded in fabric. As you sit, you’re forced to peer through a literal veil, into a mirror that projects a distorted version of you. It’s an uncomfortable exercise, but it drives home the concept in a tangible way.
“I think about my paintings as being like Harry Potter paintings— they’re alive. And I figure, how would they feel if they could actually hear and understand what people are saying when they start discussing them?” she says. “How sad it would feel if you’re on display with your white counterparts, and they start talking about, ‘Wow, look how beautiful her dress is … or look how smooth the artist painted her skin.’ Then when they get to you, they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s a little Black girl. She must be struggling with her looks in this Eurocentric society.’ They would come to those conclusions, and it was usually about an inferiority complex that they were projecting onto the people I was painting.”
In her Left of Center exhibit The Veil, on display through April 5, James restores agency to the subjects in her paintings, equipping them with artifacts that protect and connect them to their true selves. For instance, James’ piece “Wand of Discovery” depicts a young Black girl wielding the majestic Moon Stick from the hit series Sailor Moon. In the magic-filled manga, protagonist Usagi discovers she’s a reincarnated princess. Much in the same way, James seeks to remind the child of her own divinity. “That little girl, if somebody were to sit her down and introduce her to her heritage, outside of how academia teaches it, she would discover how divine her roots are,” James says.
Throughout the exhibit, James leaves breadcrumbs of her own identity. One room projects a timelapse video of her painting process. In another, she honors ancient African history with a graphite drawing of a woman from the Hausa tribe in Nigeria; the metal frames she created in shape of the group’s architecture. There’s even a nod to her love for comic books, as an issue of Black Panther makes its way into a painting.
By lifting the veil, James provides clarity to work that’s often misunderstood. When one looks at paintings now, like “The Gathering,” in which she depicts a multigenerational family sitting around the living room in front of an old sound system, perhaps they won’t see Black people at all. They’ll see a memory.
“We have a lot in common,” James says. “The domesticity is universal, regardless of race.”
THE VEIL Artist talk March 29, 1:30 p.m.; closing reception April 5, noon. Left of Center Gallery, 2207 W. Gowan Road., leftofcenterart.org.
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