For the first solo show of her career, Chelle Barbour is debuting a surreal photo collage series that reconfigures and empowers the black female imaginary. "You Is Pretty!" will open at Band of Vices Gallery on September 15, in the heart of the emerging West Adams arts district in Los Angeles. Using photos from books, magazines and more, the mind-bending artworks transmute the marginalized and devalued ways black women have often been portrayed in our media and society. With recurring visual motifs of flower petals and leaves and butterflies, Barbour is reclaiming the image of black women and reconfiguring them as empowered archetypes of feminine strength and potential.
