VANESSA CHARLOT, BLACK WOMAN'S SHADOW
“In America, she lives in a perpetual state of trauma. To survive, she moves performatively through life, without processing her anguish. She symbolizes what has become the American norm—grieving, coping and healing in the shadows while carrying the burden that is one’s Blackness. For many, racism means feeling like an outsider in your own country. The cycle of trauma, anguish, pain, isolation and loneliness is harrowing and relentless. At the same time, nothing about this struggle is new for her. This lone shadowy figure has always been kin to Black women. The project poses the question: how do Black women cope with the alienation and anguish of their experience?
This photo series gives a raw and intimate view into the psyche of a Black woman as she grapples with this trauma--her anguish, fear, loneliness, and angst bare. To navigate her inner world and cope with the relentless barrage of racial and gender-based trauma in America, she confines herself to her most intimate and private spaces. What else could she do knowing that American values like equality and justice do not always include people who look like her. She symbolizes the potential and the broken promises made to Black America. The result is grief, sadness and exasperation--emotions that shape this photo series. While symbolic of the hope for Black America, she still carries a great burden--to love a country that does not love her back.“ - Vanessa Charlot