Iona Rozeal Brown May 12, 2011

iona rozeal brown's paintings examine ways that Japanese society has appropriated African American hip-hop culture. While spending time in Japan, the artist began exploring early Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and became interested in popular Japanese youth culture known as Ganguro (literally "black face"). This trend involved Japanese teenagers imitating hip-hop idols by dressing in casual baggy clothes, weaving their hair into cornrows, and darkening their skin at tanning salons or with makeup. The works in this exhibition are from a series of paintings entitled a3 Afro-Asiatic Allegory. They visually blend Japanese and African American culture and explore such issues as minstrelsy and consumerism.