I Refuse to Be Invisible 2010

Editor: So, here we have Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s "I Refuse to Be Invisible," from 2010, which looks like acrylic and collage on canvas. The first thing that strikes me is this juxtaposition of darkness and…photographic memory, maybe? The figures seem layered with imagery. What's your take on it? Curator: "Layered" is definitely the word, isn't it? Like echoes or faded photographs – it whispers rather than shouts. It reminds me of growing up surrounded by family photos. And I wonder, does it bring back those intensely personal, almost dizzying feelings of home for you too? But tell me, what is your relationship with memory in your art? Do you think memory can really be made visible, somehow? Editor: I mostly work with digital media, so memory is more about…lost files and corrupted drives, ha! This painting though... it feels so physical, tangible. Are those collaged photos personal, do you think? Curator: They are personal and ancestral, I understand. You know, in Crosby's work, she’s often dealing with her identity as a Nigerian woman living in America – that push and pull between cultures, home and adopted home. I love how she uses those layers, almost like cultural strata, to give us that feeling of displacement and longing, that feeling that home is here and elsewhere at once. The 'invisible' she is talking about might be the fear of losing your identity within new cultures, but maybe the key here is refusal. Editor: Wow, I hadn't considered that 'refusal' being an active choice, it’s powerful. All those layers…I need to spend more time letting it sink in. Thanks! Curator: Indeed! The piece’s layered narratives surely show more with each new look. What a treasure to think about how we create our own visible lives!