Privacy

In the age social media, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and unlimited access to the past, present and future the internet has a way of tricking us into believing that we have to the right to see everything.

In a time when trolls and haters are filling digital spaces, privacy acts as a method of self-preservation. You are not entitled to see every aspect of someone’s life, be it a celebrity or your best-friend’s kinda sorta new boyfriend. They owe you nothing. And it’s best and ideal that you respect their request for privacy. 

When you have private social media channels it’s assumed that you have something to hide. 

Being in the public eye does not mean you should be forced to disclose every aspect of your life. You are not disposal and do not have to open yourself up to public consumption simply because you have a platform with a large audience. You have a right to your privacy. 

I’m a black/curator/artist/activist and I have privatized social channels— not because I have anything to hide but because there is a level of intimacy in my work that I only want to share with a certain amount of people. 

And this “but your work can help so many other people if you made it accessible to them” is a valid argument. However, my work is about self-care and my self-preservation and I’m all for extending oneself beyond personal comfort zones however I’m also for respecting personal boundaries and honouring them. I think of my practice as an extension of myself and I am very particular as to whom I extend this intimacy with. So while I love resonating with audiences it is in my self-care ritual to honour my own needs first. 

I have tons of artworks that my close family and friends haven’t seen. And perhaps you’re wondering “Why would you make art if you never intended it to show it to anyone?” For the same reason why someone will pray in private opposed to in public: because it’s meditative, personal and they are entitled to their privacy.

Don’t let our digital age make you feel silly or uptight for wishing to keep certain things private. And don’t feel the need to buy into these ideologies that talking about everything will free you from anything: this method works for some and it might not and does not have to work for you. 

This is not a cult.