For Black History Month I was commissioned by Tate Collective 📸 to respond to an artwork in their collection. I was very inspired by Keith Piper’s ‘Go West, Young Man’ and this is my response. Please visit @tatecollective Instagram page to see mine and other commissioned work by amazing Artists this week. 📜 “Our lives are composed of many overlapping stories. Inspired by Keith Piper’s photomontage series titled ‘Go West Young Man’, this portrait draws from the lives of African descendants across several generations and countries. A combination of images and text, my work ‘Go West and Grow Up With the Country’ presents multiple stories, inviting the viewer to examine different representations of Black identity and the various movements of resistance and migration. It explores the historical, cultural, and political depiction of the black female body. ⛴How do people with troubled or misrepresented pasts move forward? To what extent are we the sum of our past? The Ghanaian phrase, ‘Sankofa’, meaning ‘to go back and collect’, expresses the importance of remembering history and bringing it into the present in order to progress into the future. In celebrating and acknowledging histories that centre Black people, we can better imagine futures where Black people thrive.” - Melanie Issaka #blackhistorymonth #tatecollective