Michael Benson (MiCo)

30in x 40in

$1500

Growing up in a household of eight siblings in which I was the darkest child, brought on many challenges for me. Coming to terms with sexuality and Christianity added additional challenges. I had to learn how to love all of myself, and how to reconcile these divided identities, without losing any of them in the process. This is the “peculiar sensation” spoken of in DuBois’ Theory of Double Consciousness. “The sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul and worth with the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. This feeling of two-ness. An American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two waring ideas in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” This piece interrogates the issues of race, sexuality, spirituality, and the serenity that comes with this merging.