Tokie Rome-Taylor

"Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown" - contemporary portrait, Kehinde Wiley

2021

Atlanta, Georgia-based artist Tokie Rome-Taylor examines themes of time, spirituality, visibility and identity through photography, cyanotype and embroidery. She explores the sense of belonging and self-perception as it begins in childhood. Through constructed portraits of proud Black and Brown children dressed in fine fabrics and jewelry, and depicted with family heirlooms and historical objects, Tokie’s work deliberately counters the stereotypical narratives in Black representation and combats their historical erasure.

Denied access to traditional materials and practices in the Americas, a creolization of symbolic elements of European status and wealth have been utilized to visually connect to ancestral practices of adornment and spirituality. Rich fabrics, historical objects and layered directional lighting are inspired by Renaissance paintings that historically did not depict people of color. The use of beading, embroidery, gold leafing and wax are inspired by the materials used in creation and adornment of clothing within traditional West African culture. Through these elements, each sitter’s beauty and worth are evoked, conveying an elevation of the Black body. Tokie hopes that through her work her children and those that come after will perceive their place in society through a lens of belonging and equality.

Tokie Rome-Taylor is an educator and working artist. She is a Fund for Teachers fellowship recipient, studying photography in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in San Francisco, California. Her work has been a part of many national and international exhibitions, including at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, SP-Foto SP-Arte Fair (São Paulo, Brazil), the Masur Museum of Art, the Zuckerman Museum of Art, the Lyndon House Art Center and Agnes Scott College among others.

Tokie is a recipient of the Virginia Twinam Smith Purchase Award, adding her work to the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia as well as the Legacy Award, bestowed by the Griffin Museum of Photography. Her work is held in multiple public and private collections and was recently acquired by the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art.

Find a collection of original Tokie Rome-Taylor art on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Spalding Nix Fine Art)