A Letter From the South : Horace Imhotep

The work of Atlanta based artist Horace Imhotep is steeped in the often dark historical truths of American history, while heavily influenced by his familial bonds and ancestral roots.  In this, his  inaugural  body of work poignantly titled A Letter From the South, we see no conclusions to the darkness, no neat pathway leading us towards progress.  Instead, we witness the tying together of a centuries long narrative, rooted in the ongoing struggles of today.  It is a reconciliation with the past, the recognition of the present, and a defiant act of taking ownership of the future.

Painting in the languages of advertising and pop surrealism, Imhotep neutralizes historic, political and often racially charged imagery as a way of converting these images into relics of a bygone era.   However, we do not fool ourselves with temporary optimism as we see daily that history often sadly repeats itself.  The minstrel trinkets, novelty mugs and shameful heirlooms that ornament cupboards, or are  hidden away in attics across our nation only amount to that of a cover-up, presenting more of a cosmetic hope for a post-racial society.  

In the school of the post-black arts movement, Horace Imhotep’s work makes a commentary on racial matters and the black experience juxtaposed with the mythology of race.  One could say that these pictures are a litany of sad songs sung stoically, yet for Imhotep, they illustrate a journey towards personal resolve.  The artist utilizes satire, bold color and a contemporary sensibility to embolden the cause of social justice, rebuke the commercialization of oppression, and elegantly capture the essence of an America grappling with the turmoil of a dream deferred.

Image Credit: Horace Imhotep A Tasty Morsel 2016