Gold and Silver Leafing:

The application of gold and silver leafing on the eyes of the AI-generated portraits serves as a profound symbol, encapsulating the paradox of abundance and loss that defines the African immigrant experience. These precious metals, historically and culturally tied to the African continent, are not just materials, they are metaphors. Gold and diamonds have long been emblems of wealth and prosperity, yet they are also markers of exploitation, greed, and the mismanagement of resources that has plagued many African nations.

The gold and silver leafing on the eyes of these portraits represents the inherent value and potential that each immigrant carries with them their talents, their histories, and their unspoken dreams. These eyes, adorned with the sheen of gold and silver, gaze out with a mixture of hope and sorrow, embodying the duality of their existence. They reflect continent rich in natural resources, yet impoverished by the very systems that were meant to steward its wealth.

By using these metals, I aim to draw a direct line between the vast natural wealth of Africa and the diaspora's struggle for a better life. The shimmering eyes suggest a vision of what could have been a future where these resources are harnessed for the collective good, securing prosperity for all. However, the same gleaming metals also allude to what has been lost or squandered. The gold and silver, while radiant, also signify the dreams deferred, the potential unfulfilled, and the migration of talent and hope to distant shores in search of opportunities denied at home.

In this artistic expression, the leafing is not merely decorative but deeply symbolic. It invites the viewer to reflect on the untold stories of these immigrants’ stories of displacement driven not by lack of resources but by a lack of opportunity. The radiant eyes of the portraits, framed in gold and silver, challenge us to see beyond the surface, to consider the wealth of human potential that lies within each migrant, and to question the systems that have turned this potential into something that must be sought elsewhere.

About the Artist:

Henry is a Ghanaian born artist who received a BA in Fine Art from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. Henry’s passion for Hand Papermaking led him to do his graduate work in Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Making use of hand papermaking and photographic processes, his graduate work has explored ideas informed by the natural world and his observations and experiences as an international person moving between cultures.