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I Am Not As Nice As Glen
Reflections on the screening & after talk of “Why is Chichi Black?”
Saturday night, I was present at the showing of Glenpherd’s documentary: ‘Why is Chichi Black?’ at Serena’s factory. I think we all had expectations of the night informed by the brilliantly critical yet nuanced article that he wrote in the summer of 2024. While it was maybe wrong on our part to assume this documentary to be an extension, visual translation or more in depth exploration of his previously written piece, nothing could have prepared us for this. In one evening we were collectively held hostage by confusion and perplexity. The very thing that we eagerly want to move away from - may it be white innocence, hypersexualization, capitalism, confusion and insensitivity - looked us right in the eye without shame, responsibility or reflection. In fact Serena, the maker of the Chichis, made it a highly intensive sport to duck questions left and right and claim all the space in her garden, like nobody’s business.
Now, personally speaking, the set up of the film, also granted her the audacity to do so, as critical questions took a backseat in this one. The angle of the film offers a glimpse into the life - and character if I may say so myself - of Serena Israel. As the screening was about to come to its end confusion and frustration started to arise, ‘cause were we really about to let this woman off the hook? Is she really about to get a pass, due to the complexities of her personal and professional journey?
No. That is the short and simple answer. And while each question or statement posed by an audience member was an attempt to let her see what the real effects of her works are, I don’t think it landed.
The truth is that the short film only covered a fraction of all that Serena is, and it was therefore more so her real life persona or character that triggered the hell out of everyone I talked to. From the moment that she held the mic, there was no stopping her, unapologetically revealing the politics of her factory.
The first one being no surprise at all. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you again, our dear friend; capitalism. The artist shared that the Chichi sculpture was created as a way to provide for her family. Now that is in and of itself not problematic, of course. Building sculptures to make a living sounds like a very human thing to do, doesn’t it? Hell, we all do things to provide for our livelihood. The complexity and violence however, comes in when that reality is used as an argument to justify the selling of Black womanhood. The sharing of her personal survival comes across as a tactic to shift the conversation towards understanding instead of a critical and deep dive into race, gender and white innocence. And quite frankly it still does not explain why the Chichis are painted Black - it merely illustrates that people will do anything for money despite the communal sentiments around and cultural effects of their own creation. So really, what is left to say?
"We all do things to provide for our livelihood. The complexity and violence however, comes in when that reality is used as an argument to justify the selling of Black womanhood".
Actually a whole lot. So let’s unpack it all for real this time, without defensiveness, the implementation of prayers or the masquerade of using words like ‘divine’.
Why is Chichi Black?, we ask. ‘The Black Chichi sells better than the other colors’, is Serena’s answer. There seems to be a higher demand for it. I am obviously not surprised. Again, Blackness is a site for cultural capital that is not so much valued, but definitely exchanged. I mean, the selling of Blackness is nothing new, we still see it all over the globe, from the commercialization of Black music without acknowledging its cultural significance to sensationalizing or misrepresenting Black trauma in the media. But just because it has been happening that doesn’t make it right, right? Catering to a higher demand, doesn’t automatically square things away.
And while the artist does seem to have quite a lot of knowledge on the origins and societal weight of Curaçao’s real life Chichis, her practice is still rooted in the commercial exchange of Black womanhood. And the reality is that she remains a white woman from Europe without the lived experiences, family systems, bodily effects and histories of Black women. She said so herself - and I am paraphrasing -‘my family doesn't look like a family that is typically labeled as Caribbean based on the number of people in it’. So now I ask her directly: Where did you get the audacity to commodify Black and Caribbean womanhood? Who gave you the right to represent Curaçao in Europe as someone who is not even from here?
"The goal of art is not segregation but notions of power, privilege and history cannot be erased (...) One must refrain from falling into stereotypes, caricatures or tropes and that is where the problem of Serena’s Chichi comes in".
I am so tired of white people telling or attempting to tell our stories without the mental bandwidth for cultural sensitivity, our history and its impact. It is deeply painful and demands the question if white artists - especially those with European origin - should be allowed to produce work with Black subjects or if they should only be allowed to explore within their own experiences? It is of course possible, the goal of art is not segregation but notions of power, privilege and history cannot be erased, even within art. One must refrain from falling into stereotypes, caricatures or tropes and that is where the problem of Serena’s Chichis comes in. The oversimplified and overly exaggerated voluptuous ‘kurpa’ of the Chichis made in Serena’s factory might be painfully worse than its Black skin color. It was also addressed by a bright light during the aftertalk, stating that there is a dangerous dance going on between aestheticism and exoticism. The Chichis are such an explicit act of objectification, sexualization and exoticism, that it all makes me wonder where the self-reflection comes in.
"There is such an explicit act of objectification, sexualization and exoticism present, that it all makes me wonder where the self-reflection comes in. ".
Because as a Black woman myself I even question the impact of my own work from time to time. Despite the fact that I am always photographing Black women through a resting and celebratory lens, I still might have been perpetuating harmful stereotypes, which led me to create my latest series, SELFHOOD, in the first place. So if I can hold myself accountable through reflection and action, how is it that you as ‘the other’ do not have the moral compass, humility, awareness, sensitivity and comprehension to do the same? What makes you so free in your capitalism to create and sell a type of art that exploits a monolithic narrative of Black women? Because we, Chichis, are not all strong and curvy or voluptuous. So how is it that you are so comfortable sustaining a Caribbean narrative that tourists hypersexualize without shame? How are you so comfortably producing work under a name that is so deeply rooted in our Caribbean domesticity, finding ways to commodify family positions, titles and family members from Curaçao? Do our eldest sisters not deserve better?
What makes you so free in your capitalism to create and sell a type of art that exploits a monolithic narrative of Black women?
And yeah, of course, it is not within your reach to control how tourists interact with your sculptures. But it is within your reach to question the effects of your own work - one that till date is not inherently of your lineage nor symbolically respected by tourists.
And yeah, I still hear you say that education is important, but I honestly don’t know if we are ever to see a future where the Black woman is not sexualized, exoticed, fetished, commodified, overworked and/or undervalued. ‘Cause baby, it is not that we have been silent for too long, we have been teaching and preaching, yet we still find ourselves in a loop of white innocence - exhibit A. So let’s remain in the reality of now, and act accordingly.
And yeah, here I am voicing my words on digital screens while you explicitly said that your door is always open. But I need to safeguard my own Black being, Caribbean sentiments, and womanly joy.
So all that there is left to say is: Don't bother inviting me to your home. Others may have the will and patience to educate, advise, hold space or conversate, but I have seen enough. After all, I am not as nice as Glen.
Written by Aqueene Wilson
Thanks to Nash Caldera & [anonymous] for your input & proofreading
Published on January 13th, 2025
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