Black Madonna

The Black Madonna is part of the "Cultural Appropriation and Assimilation series." Found in hundreds of Catholic churches across Europe and Latin America, the Black Madonna, a depiction of the Virgin Mary with dark skin, remains one of the most mysterious and controversial religious icons. Inspired by those icons, I created my own Black Madonna. Interestingly so, people who are not familiar with the history of the Black Madonna are puzzled by this atypical image of a black woman; but, they all agree: she must be a queen. This reaction brings me back to the cultural and fashion values coming from Western European traditions. Those cultures taught us to morally evaluate the dres...View all