I am Eleisha Miracle Gordon; I am a practicing artist from the east midlands, united kingdom. 

 

My work primarily looks into black heritage and black history. I look at past acts that have happened in our history and how these may have impacted modern day existence. I look at stereotypes about black people in general, and develop work based on these particular stereotypes. I also look at the identifiers of blackness, what indentifies a person as black?

 

I have looked at the black skin, and the concept of lighter skinned and darker skinned women and men, whether this determines attractiveness.

 

I have looked at the black body and the ‘unique’ shapes found on black men and women. This particular concept was influenced by my research on Sara Baartman, a Hottentot, African woman showcased within European freak-shows because of her ‘unusual’ body type.

 

I am currently exploring the history, and politics behind the afro-textured hair. The love and hate relationships expressed by others, and myself about the natural tresses that grows from our heads.

 

I explore concepts with a variety of mediums dependent on the message I am communicating. For the afro-textured hair theme, I am using synthetic hair bought in pack-form from the hair shops located within Birmingham city, based upon the poor representation of Afro hair within the cosmetic industry.