MoAD Emerging Artists presents Chanell Stone

Chanell Stone’s practice is invested in challenging insular views of Blackness by expanding on narratives subject to Black erasure. This avidity has led her to explore the re-naturing of the Black body to the American landscape. Fueled by the conflicting lineage surrounding the African American legacy and nature, Chanell is inspired to create work that highlights this longstanding connection to the land. Specificity is placed on urbanized African Americans living in dense cities and the disconnection from nature that often inherently follows this lifestyle. She analyzes the Black body’s presence within urban “forests” as an effort to reclaim and reconnect to nature itself, even within the confines of the man-made environment. Through a compilation of environmental portraits, Stone explores the notion of “holding space” within one’s environment and the nuances of compartmentalized nature. Through the use of black and white analogue photography, Natura Negra aims to expand the canon of traditional photography.