OUTBURST

OUTBURST is a mixed media project that explores the outcome of suppressing emotions that come with the black queer experience. This project is an expression of resistance against the expectation that we should neatly cope with humanhood. Within the last 10 years, The DSM-5 has made large strides towards the destigmatization of mental health. Terms such as ‘self-care’, “gaslighting’, and ‘boundaries’ are now common enough to be considered buzzwords. Therapy can be accessed through a number of different online applications and 1 in every 10 Americans takes SSRIs to cope with their mental health conditions. While I can recognize that this indicates progress, I can also acknowledge the way that the black and black queer community are often left out of these developments. Ancestral PTSD, gender dysmorphia, misogynoir, and generational poverty are all unique experiences that deeply impact the way we navigate the world of mental health. Some of our experiences don’t even have language yet. This project seeks to use imagery to divulge and exhibit those grey areas.

The most important part of this project is that it addresses the experience of black queer folks traversing a world that requires us to ‘mask’ in order to survive. Newport Institute defines ‘masking’ as camouflaging or suppressing mental health symptoms, so one can fit in with others. For black folks, masking can be the difference between life and death. It can look like code switching all the way to conforming to racist ideations. For queer folks it can present itself in ways like trying to ‘pass’ or being ‘closeted’. When these forms of masking overlap, they create a new set of issues that require a lens of intersectional comprehension. OUTBURST is that lens.