Artist Biography
Of German Jamaican Parentage brought up in England, China and Cyprus Elizabeth Kom Lozake Browning has an international range of cultural influences. Exhibited at the Black Art Expo and a contributor to the open space project at the Heinrich Böll Institute, she is also responsible for an annual installation/performance piece in Berlin on the subject of walls and cultural division. A graduate of St Andrews University where she studied Philosophy, Literature and International Relations she has an unusual grounding in the concepts to which she offers her unique visual response.
Artist Statement
My work looks at debates within the black community across the Diaspora, Black bastions values and desires.
As a member of a tiny black community in Germany I find it fascinating to look at other places where black communities are larger and more powerful.
I also examine Black peoples active role in trying to shape perceptions of themselves from outside the black community.
What are our proclaimed and actual values and how far can we speak of sharing these? When do shared values become stereotypes and then decried as racism? How does commercial Black culture affect black people’s perception of each other? What is the difference between black products aimed at a white audience and black products for black people?
My pieces of art are like a kind of visual essay individuals can pick the parts they identify with and rearrange them as a visual statement . I believe Art is a powerful revolutionary force and have been inspired by my mentor EL Loco and Loretta Scott to make art for black people.
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