Toni Lovejoy
Toni Lovejoy a full-time visual artist based in Charlotte, NC has been creating images for over 30 years. Raised by a renowned American Western Artist and educated at the Colorado Institute of Art, She began her career as a photojournalist in Iowa. In the early 80s she moved to Australia to work within the fashion and advertising industry. After moving back to the States in the late 80's for work, she spent a year interning with a fashion studio before beginning to work in the film and commercial world in Phoenix and LA. In 2008 Lovejoy made the switch from film to digital and began exploring fine art photography full-time. A sampling of her work can be found online at www.mynameislovejoy.com.
Artist Statement
”A Citizen of No Nation” begins the work of exploring and representing the history of slavery within my genealogical family line and the ongoing impact it has had on our contemporary lives. I began the work to deconstruct this shared history both as a descendant of the enslaved and slave owner, by photographing my daughter on various plantations and other touchstones of enslavement. Noting that the images we have always been shown throughout history were images created by those who viewed us as chattel, I created portraits of my family and friends representing our mutual ancestors. This allowed me to humanize the faces of our hidden history, while contrasting it starkly against the inhumane words and abuses of the enslaved economic system. I endeavored to re-visualize and expose our ancestors inner truth and their divine grace. I sought to show beauty, strength, and courage, whereas we had only ever been shown the disenfranchised, downtrodden, beaten, and abused. No one ever thought to show us that once we were warriors - a proud and beautiful people. The visual narrative was chosen for us. So I chose differently. I chose to show strength instead of defeat, beauty instead of destruction, and the richness of courage rather than the poverty of abuse.
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