While being loved and showing love are acts that are always assumed to be natural, Alanna Fields is uncovering the truth behind the concealed and disregarded love shared between queer black individuals from the 1960s and 70s through her art. As a literature major, Fields recalls how her understanding of history, while genuine, was never well-rounded. And so, after falling in love with the way one could tell a story through photography, Fields took on her own representation through art, bridging the gap with the use of old photographs and wax.
Using images purchased off eBay and colored wax, Fields' art reveals the hidden world of past queer black individuals. Sometimes, there is a name scrawled on the back of a photo, and she will pay homage to this individual through the title, such as in Renard's Refrain, 2021. Fields transcends an unknown history by catapulting the photographed individual into our present through layers of color or wax. Fields prefers to focus on an unidentified subject, although she recalls how her love for photography began with a family album. While the unidentifiable subjects may seem odd, there is a familiarity that arises from the shared past and shared identity of being a black, queer person.
As with most of her oeuvre, Fields recreates a world in which the genuine truth is mirrored by a softness, as in her collection, Mirage of Dreams Past. With this collection in particular, Fields selects images that share a common element: underrepresentation, yes, but one that is shown in the most normal or realistic of spaces, where domestic settings reveal a desirous gaze from the bedroom or a soft repose in the grass. And as each image is easily viewed, there is an ease and openness that is relatable to all. All the while, each image seems to be in a state of movement, and the colors captured between each layer of wax grants a different view or understanding of the image.
In this way, Fields is like an archaeologist: she uncovers the image, dusts off each layer of history, and reveals the person and their emotions beneath. This is all thanks to the unique kaleidoscope effect Fields uses with wax, in a way to draw out the emotions, the space, and the history of that moment. While looking into the past and being able to share in the recorded moment are feelings that we can all relate to, Fields expresses the lack of representation for men and women like herself, not only in her family albums, but within art, as well. And while this is changing, there is still much left to share. Born in Marlboro, MD in 1990, Alanna Fields' work has been featured in exhibitions including Felix Art Fair, LA, UNTITLED Art Fair, Miami, MoCADA, and more. Fields is a lens-based mixed media artist and archivist whose work challenges the representation of black queer identity within photography.
