Artist Statement by my daughter, Amaranthia
"Curls and Curves" is a new series I started with my Mom, Claire, that mixes my illustrations with her digital paintings, dubbed "Sun Angels." "Curls and Curves" is the first piece in the series, and it focuses on embracing dark skin, large curvy bodies, and luxurious natural, kinky hair. We've wanted to collaborate for years by doing something around celebrating Black women. We created this series to represent fem Black bodies of all shapes, focusing on plus-sized bodies and illustrating the beauty of 4c hair because it's still seen negatively in society and our communities. These ideas stem from my Mom not feeling represented as a plus-sized/curvy Black woman and my self-hate experiences regarding my hair and what I perceived as body flaws. Additionally, we are maddened by how dark-skinned Black women are treated negatively in media, so most of the art in this series will showcase the beauty of dark skin. The background and hair colors are taken from her ClarityIsJustSoHip (Insta: @clarityisjustsohip) designs while I drew the bodies."
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