Tags: Black Lives Matter
The idea of “nude” is a vulnerable thing. The color is contentious – nude-colored for one is not necessarily nude for another and the default in fashion remains a pink, beige-like color. When I was a child taking movement classes, my ballet shoes were light pink to match skin I didn’t have. Then there’s the sharing of nudes. Small missives that communicate desire, attraction, exhibitionism, openness. Mayomi Basnayaka’s art project Nudes for BLM turns these conversations on their heads.
Through 12 postcard-sized prints, Basnayaka both highlights the variety of nude colors and nude shapes. They bring light to the racism and colorism inherent in the underwear industry. The work itself is subtle, picking up on the small textures of the body, from stretch marks to bumps. They are intimate and exposing. And each postcard shares the message of the Black Lives Matter movement and raises money for various organizations.
“The postcards are a way to keep the conversation going. The idea is to send these postcards out to friends and family that may need to know more about the movement, or to those who need to hear words of encouragement. I hope for these postcards to be an introduction to an underrepresented issue,” Basnayaka told Kajal. “I hope that this series is a way for the public to understand the lack of representation of people of color, even in something as common as undergarments.”
