ANA X KURO

In February 2021, at my solo exhibition in Hyderabad, India, I had met this fantastic young digital artist, Kuro and we stayed connected via social media following each other art practice. Somehow, some months after my exhibition, we started working on collaboration. Kuro did a digital drawing of a black woman and passed me the print where I've applied a game of mine with acrylic colors I felt speak to the proudness of this portrait. It was a great collab because his art is rich in skin tone (in monochromatic colors), which is my opposite; this took me out of my comfort zone while studying how to approach the painting. But the outcome is lovely. 

This is a portrait of a fierce black woman without assessing her desire to be a woman without being a pretend woman. Her confidence glares through her eyes and her posture. She's proud of who she is and is in the process of building herself, which is why the strokes and the edges are not well defined. She embraces her imperfections, making her unique, beautiful, and powerful.

The artwork is available for purchase. This work has a charity note. Percantage of Sales of this work are going towards the NGO SAFA - a Hyderabad-based non-profit organization that strives to improve the financial status of women and youth from marginalized, socio-economically backward communities by empowering them with education and skill training. The focus is on helping women recognize their worth and potentials, take initiative and carve a niche for themselves.