Rocha Dawkins - BA (Hons) Fine Art
Displaced objects tell silent stories as old as time, my practice uses them to delve into themes of identity, historical critique, collective memory, and human connection. I was inspired by communal accounts of enslaved Africans braiding seeds into their hair, to investigate the migration of Afrocentric culture and its contemporary resonance within the diaspora. Through spoken word, picture-making, sculpture, and communal knowledge, I trace my ancestor’s histories and routes to refute false narratives and reclaim agency over my own identity.
In "Grounded Seeds," I reinterpret the seed-carrying narrative, using found objects to create braided landscapes adorned with seeds, hair beads, and shells, celebrating the creativity and communal bonding inherent in Black hair practices. The pigment of charcoal acts as a metaphor for the representation and erasure of Black female narratives throughout history; by layering and rubbing away at the material in its wet and dry forms, I covered and reveal aspects of my subject, much like erasing and highlighting parts of myself.
