The Emotional Landscape Of A Black Artist Described Through Extra-Vivid Portraits | Alternative Fruit

Nigerian artist Arinze Stanley has been using his talents to promote political messages for his whole career. When you have an incredible skill like his, it seems criminal to not use it to make positive progress. Thankfully, Arinze is receiving the press and attention he deserves for his fantastic work. This newest collection shows surreal portraits of black people which aim to explain how it feels to be a member of the global culture. We all know that black lives matter so these images help to convey the reasons behind why the message is still being repeated. When prejudice and intolerance still raise their heads in society, it is up to us to push the chair legs out from under their podium. If the world has a portion that feels confident to be openly racist then we have failed, where does their confidence arise from? Why are they not continually pressured to reform? Is it because we look to big brother to reform them for us?


Arinze Stanley thinks he has one answer to this multi-faced problem. His work really drives home the humanity behind black coloured skin. By observing these emotional and powerful images, which he made with graphite and charcoal pencils, anyone with a heart and an imagination can truly place themselves in the same emotional situation. No, us white folks will never truly know what it feels like to be black, how could we? We do know how it feels to be mistrusted, subordinated, exploited, and misunderstood, but in a different way, it's on a personal and not an international and historical level.


So we can take off our hats then give Arinze Stanley a warm thank you for helping us to understand, for putting the feelings into pictures so we can translate them for ourselves. You can find Arinze Stanley on Instagram. LA residents can go and see the work in person from October 3rd at the Corey Helford Gallery.
​