Languages of Invisibility, Devaluation, and Triumph

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Languages of Invisibility, Devaluation, and Triumph
Exhibition
Tues, Nov 5–Mon, Nov 25
Campbell East Wing Gallery

In Dialogue: Veronica Jackson and Andrea Douglas
Mon, Nov 11
5PM (ET)
Campbell 153

The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, or a party or a class—
it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.

—Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice From the South, 1892

The preceding quote by scholar Anna Julia Cooper appears within each United States passport. Cooper is the only woman cited in this government issued declaration of citizenship. She is also one of the Black Activists highlighted in this project.
 
The BLACKTIVISTS series by artist Veronica Jackson consists of twelve silkscreened portraits that depict thirteen relatively unknown and overlooked Black women activists. Jackson created the hybrid term “blacktivists” by combining the words black and activists. “Activist” is defined as an energetic and vigorous advocate of a cause, especially a political one. 
 
Most of these women were born during the time of enslavement in the United States, and some were enslaved at birth. Yet, despite, or because, of their social circumstances, they championed human rights for African Americans at a time when their own racialized and gendered existence remained in jeopardy.
 
In this artwork, the technique of silk-screening black ink on black paper symbolizes the invisibility, devaluation, and barely acknowledged essence of Black women’s stories. As the series has evolved, Jackson has replicated the portraits in silver ink on white paper and glass, and incorporated glitter. Through this material shift, Jackson elevates each woman's visibility so that one does not have to search to "see" the women's visages, which are apparent, evident, and clear.  

About the Artist

Veronica Jackson’s artwork stems from the critical examination of visual culture. As an artist she records, interprets, and makes aware the complexities in which humans exist and affect their social surroundings. As an architect and interpretive designer she creatively solves problems within virtual and built environments. Her practice lies at the intersection of visual art and interpretive design, and is a combination of past professional disciplines, present lived experiences, and an accumulation of contemporary and historic research. Jackson’s multidisciplinary body of work is text-based, autobiographical, and in response to her gendered and racialized existence in America.

Co-presented by the Dean's Forum on Equity & Inclusion and UVA's Center for Cultural Landscapes, with support from the Mellon Foundation and the Sara Shallenberger Brown Endowment.