Black Girl Blush
2025.
Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions W15cm x L20cm
With this painting I was excavating the moment of trying to belong. Looking in the mirror and wondering why the reflection does not match the expectation.
The large expressive eyes, the ceremonial adornment juxtaposed against the solid pink background drawing the viewer into her gaze.
The expression is poised yet contemplative, evoking themes of adornment, identity and self-perception.
To hide this deep inside I work my way to mimic the paleness of my counterparts. The urgency to fit in. To be liked. To be accepted. To be the same.
This particular work is a portrait of that tension. The longing to be seen and the fear of being too different. It is about the quiet negotiations we make with ourselves. The ways we try to soften our edges. The ways we try to mimic what was never meant for us.
But beneath the mimicry there is power. There is truth. There is beauty that does not need to be translated.
Esther Akello 