WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING LATELY (2023), explores archival imagery as a potent source of poetic utterance. Combining photographic, musical, and literary references, Southgate-Smith’s compositions capture fragments of black experiences with multi-sensory resonance, allowing viewers to engage with the deliberate interventions both intellectually and emotionally. The series’ title is borrowed from Jamaica Kincaid’s 1981 short story, featuring an introspective narrative and a protagonist recounting moments from her life that blur the line between memory and imagination. Southgate-Smith aims to embody a similar approach to storytelling, where historical and cultural anchors, alongside the creative potential of archives, are used to visually convey the collective complexities and realities of the black experience. Much of the original imagery for the series is sourced from John H. White’s photographic series Portrait of Black Chicago, which resides within the National Archives and Records Administration (United States). Originally commissioned as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s DOCUMERICA project, White was assigned to document “subjects of environmental concern” on the South Side of Chicago in 1973–74, but instead found a resilient community of Black residents facing difficult circumstances with “spirit, love, zeal, pride and hope.”
Archival material:
1. READING IN-BETWEEN SPACES (2023); John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Beauties With Colorful Hair Grace A Float During The Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project: DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; Samuel Daniell: Chertsey; 1775-1811. (1804) A Kaffer village; Native village and watering hole. [Aquatint] Image is taken from A collection of plates illustrative of African scenery and animals, with descriptive letterpress; Project: General Dundas's expedition in South Africa 180; copyright unknown; courtesy of The British Library; 2. TOMORROW IS MY TURN (2023); John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Beauties With Colorful Hair Grace A Float During The Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project, DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (October 1973) Black Soul Singer Isaac Hayes Performs At The International Amphitheater In Chicago [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project, DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; 3. ‘NEATH THE MANGO TREE (2023); John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Family Enjoying The Summer Weather At Chicago's 12th Street Beach On Lake Michigan [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project, DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; 4. OWARE (2023); John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Beauties With Colorful Hair Grace A Float During The Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project: DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; Frederic Morellec: France. (30 May 2000) Image of artwork from Galerie CSAO private collection [Photograph] Project: African Style, by Stephanie Guibourge, published by Flammarion; courtesy of Galerie CSAO; 5. WATERING SEEDS (2023); John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Beauties With Colorful Hair Grace A Float During The Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project, DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; Richard Earlom: London; 1743-1822. Johan Joseph Zoffany RA: Frankfurt; 1733-1810. (2 December 1802) Tiger Hunting in the East Indies [Mezzotint] Project: British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata, India. Purchased from Colnaghi, April 1952; copyright unknown; courtesy of The British Library.
"Tomorrow Is My Turn" (song), is the English version of "L'Amour, c'est comme un jour" (1962) a song by Charles Aznavour. Written by Marcel Stellman for Nina Simone, the song was recorded by Nina Simone on her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You.
''History is so much more than just a historical document'' (2023) Playlist in conversation with Daniel Kabuya.
Archival material:
1. John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Minority Youngsters Who Gathered To Have Their Picture Taken On Chicago's South Side During A Community Talent Show [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project, DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; 2. John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (August 1973) Black Beauties With Colorful Hair Grace A Float During The Annual Bud Billiken Day Parade [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project: DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive; 3. John H. White: Lexington, North Carolina; 1945. (June 1973) Black Sidewalk Salesmen Arranging Their Fresh Fruits And Vegetables On Chicago's South Side [Photograph] National Archives, Records of the Environmental Protection Agency; Project: DOCUMERICA; courtesy of The National Archive.
MUSOYA in conversation with PATRICIA BADIN (2022). "Musoya" a term equating to ‘femininity’ in Bambara (Malian dialect) is a performance by Patricia Badin, (artist and dancer) in collaboration with Divine Southgate-Smith (transdisciplinary artist).
Drawn from a series of conversations, interviews, and workshops the performance is an audio-visual re-centering of the black gaze. A beautifully choreographed collage of Twerk, Afro-Fusion, improvisation, and film. The staging of the performance is simple and raw - the film substitutes the voice of a Dancehall MC. MUSOYA is an empowering celebration of the black female body in movement. The performance focuses on the significance of Twerk and its evolution in the Caribbean, most specifically in the Jamaican Dancehall scene. Tracing the history of isolated movement in African Dance (hip, bottom, and stomach areas). ‘Twerk’ is a contraction of ‘twist’ and ‘jerk’ – two American dance forms that originated in the 1960s. The term first reached mainstream audiences in ‘Do the jubilee all’ (1993) by DJ Jubilee, a rapper from New Orleans. The dance form, however, dates back to pre-colonial Africa and subsequently echoes through a history of structural dehumanization, contraception, and racism.
Twerk is internal perhaps even more so than it is a spectacle; it is a trance both instinctive and liberating. Many black women struggle to embody the dance for it is often vilified as savage, uncivilized, pornographic, and degrading to women. Shame becomes a form of suppression, often reinforced by the black community, and designed to ensure survival and respectability for black women through a white-centric gaze. To the detriment of black female expression, this cultural erasure is inevitably founded upon European views that every facet of African culture is pagan and hyper-sexual.
“In dancehall, the words are important, they are instructions to the dancers and a reflection of the communities values and beliefs - often it can be empowering but it can also be homophobic and sexist”
— Patricia Badin
WHERE ELEPHANTS RESIDE (2022) An adaptation of my spoken word poetry written throughout the period of 2019-2021. The book uses photographs from various archives and original images to create a sequence of collages integrated with spoken word poetry. Publication as a site for conversation, reading as performance.
There are many nuances to ‘kissing your teeth’, a non-verbal gesture that since childhood enabled me to confidently object, agree, poke fun, and even show love. An intimate tool for communicating, used in various Black and Brown communities to express a multitude of positionings and understanding. Whether it be political or personal. TEETH KISSIN’ is an ongoing series of works, exploring sites for conversation through a medium non-specific lens. It is a space I have carved out to address the personal, historical, and collective through storytelling and healing.