I am a photographer, interested in ethnography, identity and representation. My multimedia practice is grounded in the understanding that one’s self perception and sense of belonging in a society begins in childhood. Children are the subjects I use to speak of a sense of belonging. These images of Black and brown children re-examine history and tradition, through photographic portraits that counter the propaganda of inaccurate stereotypical, subjugated, and inferior historical depiction of people of color. They represent a visual elevation that had been omitted from mainstream "western history".
Questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research that probe material, spiritual, and familial culture of ancestral descents of southern slaves are entry points for me to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language within my work. My work positions black bodies in a space that leans into the past, reaching back to address the erasure of worth in how black bodies are perceived and represented. These traditions that we were able to preserve- such as the passing down of objects, making offerings to ancestors, and the use of material objects as spiritual devices, allow the resurrection of power and autonomy once denied. My work stands in direct defiance of that erasure. Denied access to traditional materials and practice in the Americas, a creolization of symbolic elements of European status and wealth have been utilized to visually connect to ancestral practice of adornment and spirituality. I make no attempt to recreate the past, rather to create images that combine elevation and connection to diasporic practice. They stand strong, weaving together adopted western trappings of wealth and status with symbolic representations of their cultural, historical, and spiritual connections.
The Canon R5 digital camera is both my method of creating raw material, the photograph itself, and my method of creating frozen moments in imagined historical time. In the studio, I compose the photograph to capture layering of person, textures, and objects. I am currently working on a body of work that integrates the sitter’s family heirloom, and its symbolic meaning to the family. By centering this heirloom the imagined histories and the real histories of these children's families collide.
The photographs are created with children exhibiting wisdom and self-awareness beyond their visible years, conjuring notions of passed down ancestral knowledge. I incorporate found items that contain a history of people in the past, that are domestic, and somewhat nostalgic. Family heirlooms of the sitters are also incorporated, adding their historical meaning and value to the images. The objects are literal family heirlooms or selected items by me that are reminiscent of them, evoking familial connections and the memory. The sitter, in combination with the objects, creates a dialogue regarding their dynamics in history. The use of fabrics and rich materials, as well as the layered directional lighting are inspired by renaissance paintings, who historically did not depict people of color. If they were included, they were typical only as background elements within the works. In this way, I continue to combat the erasure and omission of black bodies, framing them in a position of elevation. After creating the images in camera, they are further manipulated digitally. I use multiple layers, painting in light and shadow, as well as color grading, to create a painterly image. Further manipulation may come in the form of archival images digitally collaged within the piece, using the image as a digital negative for cyanotype or as the base image for physical manipulation via embroidery, beading, gold leafing on vellum or encaustic. The use of beading, embroidery, gold leafing, and wax are all inspired by the materials used in creation and adornment of clothing within traditional West African culture. I explore mediums and layering in order to grant myself freedom from the expectation of how a photograph should ultimately exist.
TOKIE ROME-TAYLOR_____________________
(770)256-2011 tokietstudio@gmail.com
b. 1977- American born photography based artist
EDUCATION
2008 EdS Lesley University, Cambridge Massachusetts
Curriculum, Technology Integration
2006 MAEd Lesley University, Cambridge Massachusetts
Curriculum, Arts Integration
1999 BA Morris Brown College, Atlanta Georgia
Art Education, Concentration in Photography and Drawing
EXHIBITIONS (Solo)
2024 University Of North Carolina Greensboro
2023 Austin Peay University (Fall)
2023 Hammonds House Museum
2022 PrintHouston
2021 Wren’s Nest Museum, Atlanta GA
2020 Griffin Museum of Photography- Cloud Gallery, Virtual
SELECT EXHIBITIONS (Group)
2023 Santa Mesa College, San Diego, CA
2022 Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA
2022 Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago IL
2022 Fralin Museum, University of Virginia
2022 Postcards From Here, Curator Maria Kelly, Assistant Curator of Photography High Museum of Art, APG Gallery, Atlanta GA
2022 Black Angel of History- Afrofuturism Exhibition Carnegie Hall, NY
2022 Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago IL
2022 Mason Fine Art Gallery, Atlanta GA
2022 Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA
2021 Mint Gallery, Atlanta GA
2021 Spalding Nix Gallery, Atlanta GA
2021 Southeast Museum of Photography, Dayton FL
2021 CEPA Gallery Buffalo, NY
2021 Portfolio 2021, Atlanta Photography Group,Curated by Dr. Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography
2021 Griffin Museum of Photography, Curated by Arnika Dawkins Winchester MA
2021 Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens GA
2021 Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans
2021 Cobb Marietta Museum of Art
2021 Dalton Gallery-Agnes Scott College, Decatur GA
2021 Artfields, exhibition in Lake City, South Carolina
2020 MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora, SP-Foto SP-Arte, São Paulo, Brazil
2020 Gallery 1202, Gilroy, CA
2020 Masur Museum, Monroe LA, Curated By Allison Glenn, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges of
American Art Bentonville, AR
2019 “APG- Alan Avery Selects” Atlanta, GA
2019 “The Function of Freedom” A Dedication to Toni Morrision, Auburn Ave. Research Library, Atlanta GA
2019 Callanwolde Art Center, Decatur, GA
NOTABLE COLLECTIONS
Fralin Museum, University of Virginia
Southeastern Museum of Photography
Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia
The Colored Girls Museum
The Petrucci Family Foundation
Pamela Thomas-Graham Collection
Imani Perry Collection
Fulton County Arts Council
City of Decatur, Georgia
LECTURES AND TALKS
2023 University of Virginia
2022 University of Delaware
2021 Dayton State College
2020 Albion College
2020 Atlanta Contemporary
FELLOWSHIPS AND RESIDENCIES
2023 University of Virginia, Artist Residency, VA
2023 Penland School of Craft, Distinguished Fellow, NC
2023 Stayhome Residency, Tennesse
HONORS AND AWARDS
2021 Fulton County Arts and Culture Grant Awardee
2021 Finalist, MINT + ACP Fellowship
2021 Legacy Award, Griffin Museum
2020 PhotoLucida Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers
2020 National Black Arts Foundation Artist Grant Recipient
2020 Fulton County, Ga. Artist Grant Award
2019 Virginia Twinam Smith Purchase Award
2019 Honorable Mention, International Photography Awards
2008 Funds for Teachers Fellow- Photography and Digital Painting
Fellowship- Sante Fe, New Mexico and San Francisco, California
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS
2022 Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021 , Co-edited by Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe, the book offers a glimpse into the lives of over 70 African American artists, featuring personal essays, creative poetry, artistic statements, memorial tributes, and images of artworks. 240 pages, 214 illustrations.
“Reclamation”, Essays, family stories and photo based artwork exploring spiritual, material, and familial culture of the American South and the African Diaspora. Writings by Deborah Roberts, Paula Tognarelli, Berrisford Boothe, and Juana Williams. Available 2022, Tokie Rome-Taylor
2022 An Open Eye With Tokie Rome-Taylor Studio Noize Podcast
2022 Frames Magazine, April Issue
2022 Lenscratch, January Issue
2021 Boston Globe, July 2021
2020 What Will You Remember, Critical Mass Issue 2020
2019 Studio Noize Podcast
2019 NBAF: Reimaged Interview "The Business Side of Artlife in Arts
1995 Book- "The Many Faces of Auburn Avenue", George Mitchell and
the Students of Grady High School (Spread of Coretta Scott King)
AFFILIATIONS
Sistagraphy* Atlanta Photography Group* Diversify Photo* Womens Photo Alliance*
Photographer and Georgia native, Tokie Rome-Taylor focuses on the notion that perception of self and belonging begins in childhood. Children are the subjects she centers within her works, with a focus on representing a visual elevation that had been omitted from mainstream "western art history". Her works have a painterly aesthetic, using both digital and analog image making techniques. She often incorporates multiple mediums, including embroidery, pigments, beading and wax. The resulting works challenge the viewers expectation of what a photograph should look like.
Working in tandem with her centering of children, Rome-Taylor explores questions that stem from ethnographic and historical research. These questions probe material, spiritual, and familial culture of descents of southern slaves act as entry points for Tokie Rome-Taylor to build symbolic elements that communicate a visual language. The sitters' family heirlooms, and recollections of family history, are combined with the historical research about the lives of Africans brought to the Americas.The research centers on their material culture, spiritual practice, and traditions. These have all been used to create a visual language that speaks to our shared history. Children and their family heirlooms, the real or imagined histories of these children's families and their ancestors all collide to spark conversation around material wealth, familial and cultural traditions of African Americans in the South.
Rome-Taylor’s work is held in multiple private and institutional collections including the MOCA GA, The Fralin Museum at UVA, and the Southeastern Museum of Photography. She has an extensive national and international exhibition record including the Atlanta Contemporary, the Fralin Museum, The Southeastern Museum of Photography, The Griffin Museum of Photography, SP-Foto SP-Arte Fair in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Zuckerman Museum of Art, amongst others.
Rome-Taylor is a native of Atlanta, 20+ year veteran educator and working artist. She is open to opportunities that relate to artist talks, visiting institutions, residencies and workshops, as well as commissions.