Artist's 'Bloodlines' an enduring legacy

A family tree becomes a scaffolding for building an expression of how multiple cultural backgrounds can meld into one vision and a haunting reminder of the past.

"Learning of my own heritage has inspired me to give life to the lost images and events of history, and call attention to the long-forgotten victims of slavery in America, and the genocide of millions of Native Americans, while also sharing the cultural richness of African and Native American people," said Los Angeles artist Toni Scott at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archeology in Beijing.

Scott is an artist of mixed African American and Native American ancestry. In the United States, she is known for her Bloodlines exhibitions, which evokes the memories of slavery and its legacies in the US.

Paul Von Blum, senior lecturer of African American Studies and Communication Studies at UCLA, said Scott is committed to bringing the tragic story of the African American experience to her viewers and instills in viewers a deeper historical consciousness.

The Bloodlines exhibitions wove together the brutal history of slavery with personal narratives and genealogical information and tracing her ancestry to the late 1600s. It has traveled across the United States and exhibited for three years at the California African American Museum.

The cultural value of her work attracted the Dame Jillian Sackler International Artists Exhibition Program and sponsored to present her first exhibition in China, titled DNA - Bloodlines and The Family of Mankind, from July 4 until Sept 27.

For the program, Scott has been able to stay for a month in Beijing. Miguel Benavides, the vice-president of The Studio, who is also the exhibition curator, said Scott was chosen for her powerful presentation of Native American and also African American culture.

"The exhibition reminds us of what happened in the past, but also will showcase the present and future on Native American lives," Benavides said. "The exhibit will be a celebration of the human spirit and the will to live and prosper in a humane social and multi-cultural world."

Following the theme of Bloodlines, Scott's Beijing show presents her in-depth research on the 500 years of her family history and events that shaped it, including the slavery history.

In the main gallery of the museum at Peking University, an installation of 8-meter-long ship floating in the air, which are made up of 500 images of slaves.

The images on the ship are true-to-life photographs of African American slaves Scott collected from the Library of Congress. The transparencies are woven together with twine and are then tied to a frame made of Chinese bamboo.

"The blue color of the faces making up the ship symbolizes the ocean, the blue spirit and sadness experienced by the slaves in transport; it is also used as a psychological tool to balance the horror of the event with a color that helps to promote calm in support of the viewer's experience," Scott said.

Scott's family tree is on display, with the portraits of her ancestors arranged like leaves on a series of branches, which brings together a seemingly unlikely cast of American characters. There are slaves, slave owners, Native American farmers.

On the gallery walls surrounding the ship display images of self-portraits digitally composed and set within the context of her family ancestry, American historical events.

Scott said her interest in heritage and ancestry owns to her grandmother. "She would tell stories about her grandfather, showing stories about her heritage. So the appreciation for family and interest in ancestry journey was planted as a child."

With the help of an uncle who has spent years studying the family's genealogy and collecting a work documenting her family history, she transformed her art interest on the theme.

"It seemed to wake my heart," she said and kept asking the question "Who am I?" and got the answer: the daughter of an ethnically diverse family whose members always seemed to return, again and again, to the sturdy trunk of African American culture.

Before coming to China, Scott was wondering about the Chinese feedback, "as even in the US, people, especially the new generation, are not aware of the history".

During the preparation, she received some Peking University students.

"Most are from the School of Archaeology and Museology. To my surprise, they might know more about our history than ourselves, as American history is taught very early on," Scott said.

"Interestingly, two told me some images on the boat look like their grandparents."

Scott said those students gave her confidence that people have the resonation on pain and can always understand the pain and sadness of each other. "The art is to build humanity empathy and create a good dialogue."

Scott graduated from the University of Southern California and received training at the Otis Art Institute of the Parsons School of Design, and the Art Center College of Design. She said, "I want people to know their history and celebrate all of who they are. We are not a product of isolation, we are all related. Geographical lines are manmade, cultural influences and exchanges have colored our world for millenniums."

Expanding the Bloodlines theme, the artist added new dimensions for the China show featuring the Native American and Chinese genetic connection, with portraits of young Native American and Chinese woman.

Four years ago, Scott did a DNA test and the results of her mitochondrial bloodlines offered evidence of the Native American genetic heredity, and its genetic ties to China.

In addition, Scott incorporated "beauty" of Chinese culture and art into her artworks. She saw the banner in the movie Red Cliff as the army marches forward, which gave her the idea of using the banner material for painting. Other things include fabric and scroll bars, which are traditionally used for Chinese ink and water paintings.

"I've been inspired a lot by Chinese culture and beauty of art, extraordinarily inspired by Chinese architecture and design. I studied Chinese landscape painting, immerse myself in Chinese movies and history."

When she found Chinese totem images are very similar to the traditional Native American style artwork she used to decorate a teepee on display, she was excited and said the memories and connections still exist even with the span of time.

Lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn