This body of work draws parallels between the natural design of seashells and insects with exoskeletons, whose hardened outer layers function as adaptive structures that enable survival, protection, and navigation within their environments. These external forms are not merely protective shells, but evolutionary responses shaped by prolonged exposure to external pressures.
In this context, my use of bronze-toned skin on Black figures operates as a metaphorical exoskeleton, an evolved outer layer developed in response to historical, environmental, and systemic conditions. The hardened surface becomes both shield and archive, holding the weight of endurance, resilience, and survival within a world structured by ongoing forms of violence and constraint.
Rather than presenting toughness as inherent or essential, the work positions it as a necessary adaptation, an exterior forged through lived experience. The bronze surface thus functions as a site of protection, memory, and navigation, allowing the figures to exist, endure, and move through the world while carrying the marks of what they have survived.
Barry Yusufu
