Privilege Artwork

Through her poem Unnamed, Porsha Olayiwola uses her voice to respond to the following comment captured on TikTok by a caucasian woman: “Black people are notorious for naming their children 25-letter names that they’re never gonna get even pronounced right let alone spelled right, why would you do that?” Knowing the origin of one’s name is a privilege. Porscha Olayiwola points out how having to bear the name of your oppressor because it is the only title you’ve ever known, is a life sentence of re-traumatization. The motivation behind this piece is based on an abstracted concept of a map and what it might look like to imagine people who share the same history, trauma and origin stories scattered all over the world. The small textile “petals” that reference the magnolia tree from Porsha Olayiwola’s poem were cut out of large sheets of 100% cotton linen, some of which was naturally dyed a soft pink with avocado skins, some of which are covered in text from the poem Unnamed. The namesake origins that Porsha Olayiwola speaks about carry the paradox of triumph and eventual freedom from slavery in tandem with the permanent stains and painful markings of an unjust and brutal history that precedes it. To arrogantly question the intention and “absurdity” behind names of different cultures and “otherness” is a golden privilege of the oppressor. _________ The VOICES (That’s What She Said) collection is a celebration of the way women have used their words and voices to empower themselves and others.