Illustrative Becoming
"I, without a thought of conquest, find myself among a people whose culture controls me, has even in a sense, created me, people who have not even known my existence"
- bell hooks
Illustrative becoming is term I coined, as a way of describing an auto-ethnographic practice, of drawing that maps my past for the purpose of better understanding my artistic identity. Creating a face-to-face conversation with one’s history, the practice of illustrative becoming allows an individual to actively address memories through an intimately drawn performance of life. This approach reveals connections and themes that provide a space for identity to be found. In this work, illustrative becoming encompasses my development of a series of sketch journal drawings and illustrated collages that visually depict quiet memories. As a black female, I’ve chosen to share my personal story through drawings about my racial history to better understand how my culture influences my artistic voice and my educational practice.
