I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful art show, “Colour Blind”, showing the art works of a Toronto native artist, Benny Bing. His art show demonstrated the natural beauty of the Afrocentric women. Though they were painted in the negative hue spectrum, these gorgeous works of art are undeniably the Black women. As I walked from piece to piece, I noticed that various people from varying backgrounds were enjoying the works of art that showed an appreciation of women. The women beautifully illustrated and reflected in these photos were no doubt of different shades or mixes found in the vast array of the black women. Benny chose to do the shadings of each face in the same colours which, in my opinion, to someone with true colour blindness would only see the female face. I believe the artist was able to capture the different characteristics of the black women - some with strong African traits to some with more Eurocentric features, but with distinctive black heritages, (strong full lips, sharp cheek bones and Afrocentric noses). I was drawn to the images hung on the back wall. They had African patterns behind the lovey women to emphasize their ancestory.
One of the images the women was wearing gold earrings and of gold chains on the blouse. A reminder of Africa’s rich resources of gold and chains that bounded the black people in years of slavery for centuries.
As mentioned, the people in attendance were lovely dressed and genuinely had a keen interest in the art presented by Benny Bing. The art so lovely that it attracted a huge crowd, even celebrities were in attendance. The likes of Kardinal Offishall were also in attendance and introduced Benny Bing.
We really enjoyed Benny’s show and look forward in seeing more of this talented young man’s work. Have a look at his work and form your own interpreations of what "Colour Blindness" means.
Benny Bing
You can find more about Benny Bing here
Courtney
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