Black Gold

This started with a quote about Porcelain and Black skin; with a comment about commodities. This started with the bone deep knowledge that my body is not viewed as valued — until a white person deems it valuable. Deems it exotic. Until a white person recreates it and takes it for themselves; again, and again, and again.

Along with writing and research, the Black Gold contains gold illuminations painted with handmade paints. The “gold” paint used in the book, though an imitation of actual gold, relies on “profitable” materials to create the pigment. The pigment is a mix of mica and brass as the base, which was then blended with saffron threads and powdered diamonds. These last two materials, highly sought after trade commodities in the west, much like black bodies were in the era of slave trade, have been taking out of their original context and usage to create a deceptive material.

This book reveals the Alchemical secret of our worth; and the lengths they'll go to steal it.