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ARTifacts
Gallery
Exhibitions
Press
Blog
About
Contact
Store
- Gift Shop
- Reproductions

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Gallery of Selected Works

SELECT WORK TO READ ARTIST COMMENTARY

Minstrel Mickey Mouse

Signs of the Times
In 2017, Charleston, SC was rated the "fastest-gentrifying" US city by Realtor magazine. The north end of the peninsula, once home to many black neighborhoods, is now ‘gentrification central’. Main drivers in Charleston include tourism growth, housing demand, and a lack of affordable options, pushing out long-time, mainly low-income and minority, residents. Since the 1990s, the area's demographic makeup has shifted from two-thirds Black to two-thirds White, with a 55% decrease in the Black population.

Locations selected encompass the upper peninsula (gentrification central). The 24” x 24” reflective aluminum signs were mounted alongside current traffic signage in prominent locations to maximize visibility. County traffic counts suggest more than 140,000 commuters were exposed daily over the 10 days.

The social distinctions between how Caucasian and minority women's breasts are perceived in visual media reveal entrenched biases rooted in race, sexuality, and power dynamics. Caucasian breasts are often sexualized and viewed through a pornographic lens, reflecting cultural norms that tie white femininity to ideals of purity and sexual desirability. In contrast, the portrayal of minority women's breasts is frequently framed as "documentary" or ethnographic, positioning their bodies as objects of study or exoticism rather than sensuality. This duality both eroticizes and dehumanizes, reinforcing a colonial gaze that exoticizes non-white women while reducing their humanity. Yet, in art, these bodies—white and minority alike—can be reclaimed, recontextualized, and reimagined. Artistic expression often seeks to challenge these reductive tropes, emphasizing the shared human experience and the unique cultural narratives that transcend objectification.

2014 Colin Quashie Art

© 2023 Colin Quashie Art - All rights reserved.

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