I-Traits (1979-85) by Albert Chong.
“The self portraits were some of my earliest works dating from 1979-85, these works of photography were primarily concerned with being a displaced Jamaican immigrant seeking to reconnect and in some instances reinvent a mystical tradition that was severed by colonialism, slavery and western imperialism. Many of these mystical traditions are still inherent in the collective subconscious of formerly enslaved peoples who while struggling to come to terms with their identity are sometimes oblivious of the fact that the daily conflicts that they face within and without themselves are a result of the tragic loss of this ancient practice and knowledge that predate western civilization. This work attempted to create a new mystical and spiritual systems that was trying to reconnect to my Afro-Asian ancestry while incorporating aspects of Jamaican culture specifically the Rastafarian mystical, spiritual and religious system.”
