Burden is a figurative portrait of two pregnant bodies whose monolithic scale dwarfs the viewer. The burden of one belly perched on the second, is a depiction of the "old wive's tale" premonition that the two South Asian and Pacific Islander women received from strangers during their pregnancy: "the belly sits low while pregnant with a boy, while a girl is high".
The Linea Negra series photographs (2008-present) documents the inception of gender, power and race structures from slogans, slang, maxims and "old wives tales" to internalized, institutional violence. The works celebrate the melanin line appearing during gestation (most prominent in women of color) as a biological pieta; the first biographical mark on the procreative body and the first sign of our creative humanity.
- Subject Matter: Pregnant Figure
- Created: May 01, 2008
- Collections: Linea Negra photographs