Aniyah Harris: Yusef’s shawl – CPS All-City Visual Arts Exhibitions

Teacher Name: Moises Salazar
Grade: 12

Materials: Fabric and embroidery sewing
Dimensions: 19 x 61 inches
Description: An ode to the person I once knew as a father, one who could do no harm. When I found this image to be untrue, I still wasn’t ready to let it go at the time so as my way of memorializing him and remembering him as that father who would take me out and make me smile, I gathered trinkets and memories from our past adventures and filled this cloth with good memories not to forget a the bad things but to remember the good things about our time together. And as a way working and through the situation and heal.

Artist Statement: As a black young female I was taught to be aware of how others perceive me. I had to learn to be careful and to not stand out but that it was bad to completely blend in. At my current age I challenge those notions that told me to conform to unjust social structures. Growing up I had to figure out what made me feel most comfortable in my own skin as opposed to trying to make others feel comfortable around me. While making my work I reflect and question my upbringing, my memories and begin to examine the complexities of my past. Through the use of self research I begin to come to terms with current and past experiences as a way to understand myself, how my past affects me and coping with the everyday. Through the use of clay, digital media and painting I recreate moments in my life to begin the process of letting go. Acceptance for experiences I can not change and in a turn better understanding of what freedom/comfortability is for me at this point in my life is at the heart of my work. I hope to create work that helps me heal and pushes myself to be actively present in my surroundings. I want my audience to understand how their past affects them, what freedom is to them and to be able to accept the things they can not change. All of the pieces I submitted today helped me grieve, they helped me work through the pain and I eventually feel better about my circumstances.