The Art and Musings of Tamara Natalie Madden

Commentary on my new series BLACKFACE.


For years we've seen negative imagery of people painting themselves in horrific blackface, to mimic and mock the beauty of black skin. It's still going on to this day, and can be seen in ads around the world as some new fashion trend. It's an insulting trend. There are so many amazingly gorgeous black beauties that could be used in these ads instead.

Additionally, there is an epidemic in Jamaica, all across the Caribbean, in Africa, and India with skin bleaching. It's become an horrific trend to see people bleaching their gorgeous dark skin to become a shade that is lighter, all while poisoning themselves and risking cancer.

This new series celebrates the real black faces, of women, men and children. I wanted to focus on our lovely features: full noses and voluptuous lips. It's a celebration of black, and although black comes in many shades, I chose to use the medium of charcoal to create these pieces. I wanted to express this sense of 'blackness' in a more monochromatic manner.

More to come soon!

Enjoy!