Art, Beauty and Acceptance
Natural Reflections
Out of the dust from the ground He formed us
Out of the dust from the ground trees grow
It was good, He said, when He made us
Everything He made was good
Nothing can compare to our beauty
Even we can’t comprehend our rare commodity
Clouded by society’s misguided perception
We reject the sight of our natural reflection

For a lifetime, charged with a self-hate crime
We choose to reflect Twisted mind
Conforming to society’s standards
We allow them to influence our perception
And struggle to embrace our natural reflection

Where is our strength?
Where is our pride?
When will we be brave enough to say;
We are fearfully and wonderfully made?
We are precious in God’s eyes

Simply embrace your roots
Love your afro, picking, twisting, locking, kinks
Don’t conceal your blessing
Don’t hide your crown
Break free of the oppression
You must no longer fall in love with the deception
Only love you and your natural reflection
By Aiesha Scottland.

Curl Fete which is being held today at the Promenade Gardens, has become an important event on the Guyanese calendar. More than hair, more than beauty, more than a festival, Curl Fete is a movement! This movement started in 2016 to destroy the negative stereotypes that tend to be associated with kinky, curly and coily hair textures. In society, we face many different stereotypes and art is a contributing factor. The modern world is dominated by unrealistic images of the human body. This era has adapted countless apps that allow us to change our features on electronic devices with a simple touch. What I appreciate about Curl Fete is that it represents a small but significant shift in culture, one in which we love ourselves just the way God made us.

Our obsession with an unrealistic representation of the human body goes back to between 28,000-25,000 BCE. The Venus of Willendorf is said to be the very first figurine and was discovered in 1908. This piece is the first clue as to why the modern world is so dominated by unrealistic images of the human body. Her breasts, thighs, stomach grotesquely big, even her pubic region are extremely pronounced. The sculpture was a mere reflection of the thinking of the Nomads. Those features were highly desirable at that time. As the environment changed, the Nomads also had to adjust. We saw the development of the Egyptian style of representing the human body. Rather than exaggerating features, Egyptians choose to show different parts of the human body in precise angles. Their culture had caused a shift in thinking. In a different part of the globe, there were the Greeks who believed that gods took the form of man and spent countless years studying every part of the human figure hoping to create the perfect replica. After many years this was finally achieved. However, Grecians did not like it. Imagine they didn’t like their physical appearance being replicated. It was displeasing to them.
Centuries later, nothing much has changed. The fact is, humans generally don’t like their physical appearance. The obsession with the human body is most evident among our Guyanese artists.