OUT THE MUD: PAST WORK GALLERY
The global Black community has been forced to exude the magnitude of our strength and power.
We have been forced by systemic oppression and colonialism to refuse our oppressors; figuratively and literally breaking through concrete, rising from the mud, just as a rose but with thorns and power in our presence that can be misunderstood as love.
OUT THE MUD COLLECTION
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
We Rise
BLK and BOLD COLLAB
This piece was a collaboration with a black-owned coffee company Blk and Bold whom provided burlap bags from Ethiopian coffee beans and coffee grinds from their products to incorporate in this mixed media work. These two kings and the queens on their team have built a growing brand and have done so through hard work, adversity and all the while integrity and purpose. To think about rising in the morning for your coffee, to rise through adversity, to rise to your calling or purpose.
B.Moore's signature is to not paint smiling faces but the joy he feels and pride for black excellence.
WE ROSE
Picking a rose is hardly an act of love. đ„
Continuing from the first work I did earlier in 2021 titled, âWe Riseâ referencing the resiliency of flowers in reference of the black body, mind and soul. Roses are considered a token of love and are iconic in that regard, Yet, roses have thorns to protect them from other predators and as they grow, can monopolize the sunshine, overpowering other plants causing them to die.
Roses arenât meant to be picked.
They are meant to grow and take over.
HOMECOMING: DOOR OF NO RETURN
MARKED BY THE BLOOD OF MY ANCESTORS
The House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) and its Door of No Return is a museum and memorial to the Atlantic slave trade on Gorée Island, 3 km off the coast of the city of Dakar, Senegal. Its museum, which was opened in 1962 and curated until Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye's death in 2009, is said to memorialise the final exit point of the slaves from Africa. While historians differ on how many African slaves were actually held in this building, as well as the relative importance of Gorée Island as a point on the Atlantic slave trade,[1] visitors from Africa, Europe, and the Americas continue to make it an important place to remember the human toll of African slavery
B.Moore finds a symbolic echo to the phrase, âhomecomingâ for African descendents of Diaspora. The echo of last words spoke in the hallway of the House of Slaves, flowing into the ocean. In this piece I turn the direction of the figure in this work 180 degrees, facing back towards Africa. A homecoming reference. The above door is marked with reference to lambs blood (Exodus 12:13) where this work references the blood in a direct contrast to the location, as the door is marked by the blood of past ancestors who gave the ultimate sacrifice.
This smile didnât come easy
PRIVATE COLLECTION
Finding joy ainât always easy; especially when black. Fake smiles are given away too often. A lot of times black folks gotta work extra hard, break through the concrete of their own trauma to find joy and space where joy is fostered. You put a flower in a dark room with a crack of light and it will bend to the light. Itâs science.
AS TOLD BY B.MOORE
I told myself last year I wouldnât paint smiling faces. I just didnât feel like it was in the realm of possibilities. Life changes and so do people and I get to paint how I feel. Most days my art and my kids bring me joy. Maybe Iâll paint more of these happy works. đ±