2018, Houston, TX
Photos by Alex Barber
The Personal as Political is an installation that creates a home space for women, particularly Black women, to tell their stories of oppression, trauma, and experiences with race and gender. To speak about how being Black, a woman, queer, and other various identities has affected their lives; with the very act of telling their lives, aloud, when our environments suggest that we suffer in silence, is a political and radical act. .
The home space, with vintage photos of Black women, pictures frames, and seating, act as the representations for the personal. Their words, representation of the political. The home also represents our communities, our histories, and families. What could our mothers not say that we can? When is the home a safe space for us to speak candidly, and when has it been the site of the violences we want to speak about?
During my time in Houston, I had candid conversations with local Houston women. In these interviews, I heard stories about colorism, queerness, family love and family trauma, depression, survival, sexual assault, feminism, identity, love, rage. Visitors were able to sit and listen to these conversations on headset.