Collection: Sharon James

I am a Black, queer mother and re-emerging artist post the birth of my children and a 7-year break from the arts. My art practice is two-dimensional; painting/drawing and printmaking. My work is an autobiographical account of my everyday existence.

My lived experience is not just of the immediate, i.e. motherhood, but of all things past, future, visible, and invisible. Through art, I document experiences of being Black and Queer in White majority Dorset, of receiving IVF treatment (typically thought of as a White privilege), of the history of slavery, and of my sexuality. My work emerges from an unyielding desire to leave a legacy for my children- something we lack as Black British people in rural spaces, separated from our culture, history, and everyday representation. This makes my work not just ‘my’ story but is also an active act of influencing what will be ‘our’ story.

Through my work I challenge the viewer to see Blackness in what would typically be White imagery- Blackness in a seaside town, Blackness parenting, Blackness artistry. This, for me, brings intimacy to the land and seascape of paintings. My paintings are also a candid account of our home, making them relatable while also and actively shaping the portrayal of Black peoples.

More socially, the explosion of conversations around race since BLM has caused shifts in my experience of life in Dorset. Conversations about race are on the rise and I want to contribute my unique intersectional experience of Blackness, Queerness, IVF and motherhood to this developing dialogue.