A Constellation of Blackness: Rendering Invisibility, Hypervisibility, Devaluation, and Triumph;
(FUCK NO TO MY SILENCING)

2024
Hand-screenprinted broadsides on opaque white opalescent Bullseye glass, dense white frit, black frit, kiln fired
17 x 20” each (set of 2)

These two screenprinted panels document Jackson’s response to her various encounters with hypervisibility and devaluation. “You look like Whoopi Goldberg” is a repetitive and annoying phrase uttered by strangers who mislabel and attempt to locate her in their familiar. Jackson counters their hypervisualization with the anthem displayed on one of the broadsides, “FUCK NO I DO NOT LOOK LIKE WHOOPI GOLDBERG!”

“MATURE BLACK WOMEN SEEKS THE END TO MY SILENCING!” found on the adjacent panel is text from Jackson’s Mature Black Woman Seeks… series. This artwork broadcasts a mature Black woman’s search for assistance as she combats invisibility, illegibility, vulnerability, and devaluation resulting from her racialized and gendered experiences in America. 

These broadsides announce layered messages, with the most prominent and poignant bulletins rendered in black text on white glass and read across the two panels: FUCK NOT TO MY SILENCING. The artwork’s material also speaks to the strength and fragility of Jackson’s messages.

A Constellation of Blackness: Rendering Invisibility, Hypervisibility, Devaluation, and Triumph;
(SURPRISED TO OFFER)

2024
Hand-screenprinted broadsides on opaque white opalescent Bullseye glass, dense white frit, black frit, kiln fired
17 x 20” each (set of 2)

Jackson has been subjected to various bouts of devaluation including the following statement uttered from a peer: “I was surprised and shocked by how smart you are.”  

Her response to this and similar types of inane statements is to present them to a broader audience. When a Black woman colleague reflected that “My blackness negates paying attention to what I have to offer,” Jackson immediately recognized its value and filed it away in her archive. Reflecting upon Jackson’s patriarchal and misogynistic upbringing, juxtaposing these two phrases provided her with the opportunity to create a provocative statement (in black text) of self-actualization about her own abilities: I WAS SURPRISED AND SHOCKED BY WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER.