Magical Ladders

Although I didn't get the opportunity of going to the Barnes Foundation to experience Shonibare's exibit, watching just the video made me really interested in his work. His collections aren't just about self expressions, they're about melting both, having the priviledges of a white man as well as having the freedom of and right to critique them. As the video played, and I explored a few more images of his work and the more I saw the more I built on the idea of building on our connections. Shonibare, himself identifies as both European and African and freely uses both identities to create what his mind unravels. Like him, I believe that I shouldn't have to choose one identity to identify who I am. I am Mexican- American, which means I am not only moving forward and adapting to the "american life" but keeping the threads that keep me tied to my physical attributes. I can be a part of this modern society and enjoy it but at the same time I can have the freedom of enjoying not having my phone and listening to Have you ever seen the rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival on blast as I lay away in the backcountry. I can be both and enjoy both quite equally, I shouldn't have to feel forced to choose which defines me more. 

Shonibare's work is all about being among the abyss and not feeling stressed or chained to a perspective you must believe and stick to forever. It's about fighting among all the disadvantages and yet managing to stick your head above the current and enjoying the sun's rays as they glisten on your face.