Black Beauty Gets Shine In Two New Exhibits

Photo: Michelle Marshall 

Persons of African descent are beautiful no matter what region or tribe they descend from. As evident of this fact, there are a few exhibits that are to be revealed that emphasize that point poignantly. French-born, London-based photographer Michelle Marshall is a born visual artist who thrives on the camera being a bold extension of her more introverted self. Her new project, MC1R, chronicles the stunningly diverse manifestations of the MC1R gene, also known as a melanocortin 1 receptor, particularly in people of color.

Red hair and freckles is usually the result of a mutation in a gene called, you guessed it, MC1R, and when activated by a certain hormone it sparks a series of signals that leads to the production of brown or black pigment. In cases where both parents are carriers of the recessive MC1R gene, it fails to turn hair darker, and results instead in a fiery build-up of red hair or pigmentation. “I am currently interested in documenting the incidents of the MC1R gene variant responsible for red and hair and freckles, particularly amongst black and mixed raced individuals of all ages,” Marshall wrote in an email to The Huffington Post.

According to BBC News via VICE who purported the project, between one and two percent of the world’s population — or 70 to 140 million people — are redheads. 35 percent of the population in Scotland and Ireland carry the recessive gene and the word “ginger” often is used to describe those of Celtic-Germanic attributes. “I want to stir the perception that most of us have of a ‘ginger’ as a white Caucasian individual. Embracing society’s plurality and, in the process, shaking up our perceptions about origins, ethnicity and identity is a goal of mine.”

Photo: Seydou Keïta 

Marshall’s “visual census” of documenting red hair and freckles in African, African American, Afro-Caribbean and mixed race cultures isn’t the only project with a mission. In and Out of the Studio: Photographic Portraits from West Africa chronicles a century’s worth of deep rooted photographic culture from renowned practitioners. Artists such as Seydou Keïta of Mali, J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere of Nigeria, and Samuel Fosso of Cameroon showcase the broad variety of West Africa’s practices and aesthetics through real photo postcards, original negatives, and photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“These photographers explored the possibilities of their medium developing a rich aesthetic vocabulary through revealing self-portraits, staged images against painted backdrops or open landscapes, and causal snapshots of leisurely times,” reads a Met press release. “Regardless of their unique place in the history of photography in West Africa—from the formality of the earlier studio poses to the theatricality of Fosso’s fantasies—the sitter’s self-assured and unabashed presence fully engages the viewer.”

For the MC1R project, most of Michelle’s subjects have been prominently in the United Kingdom. With interest in those who live in the United States and mainland Europe, she adamantly claims, “I’ve got the whole of London on this,” she said when describing her army of spotter. Given the lack of research on the subject, Michelle’s subjects are adding to the growing discussion of what constitutes “black beauty” in the world today. Her work establishes the historical prevalence of ethnic gingers while the Met exhibit documents the past history of West Africa’s storied greatness.

To get a full look at the MC1R exhibition, please click here. Meanwhile, the In and Out of the Studio: Photographic Portraits from West Africa is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from August 31 through January 3.

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