Regina Herod

Regina Herod: “My work generally begins with an examination of varied historical circumstances that were systemically put in place to marginalize and disenfranchise people of color for centuries. I look for the repeated patterns and forms of colonization that are generated in different forms. Things that people ignore or refuse to examine, in service to leveling the lens toward greater equity of Black and Brown people among privileged people.

For example, I recently created a sculpture entitled Antebellum Was The Original Reality Show which evolved from the gall of how Black people continue to be othered and disregarded in the face of building the majority of wealth and commerce in this country and other regions of the world. The past and present history of the prison industrial complex is a modern form of the slavery system used to contribute to every profitable industry that is still in place today. 

Another work, entitled They Don’t Feel Pain Like We Do is part pun, derived from this belief during slavery and a silent nod to the psychological, cellular pain that is passed down from generations of Black people as a result of enslavement. Pain that isn’t consciously acknowledged by many individuals to this day in this country. Additionally, in stating this, I always acknowledge this reality is not singular to African Americans and I look at the parallels of circumstances as it relates to colonization globally.

Brutality and reclamation are never far from my consciousness and I believe that the construction, material use and form of my 3-Dimensional works are conceived from the beauty of our perseverance, the cyclical trauma of colonization and loss of our original heritage. The forms that I conceive of are metaphors for what we have endured and my reflections of our power in spite of our history. Strength and fragility go hand in hand because that’s what we have always grappled with as unwilling participants. My material use of wood, wax, steel and paper follows this premise.

I also perceive the forms of my works as subversive, challenging the normatives that the majority of art institutions expect and validate in the art world. In saying this, I often remember the derogatory phrases of “Primitive Art” used in 20th century art history publications and college courses while white artists simultaneously “borrowed” ideas and pillaged global regions of artworks to fill wings of museums. I like to think that I am reclaiming and honoring the ancestors in the way that I use material.” 

Regina Herod lives and works in Los Angeles. She initially studied theater in college and believes that those early years contribute to constructive forms that evolve within her visual arts practice. She earned her B.F.A at San Diego State University and her M.F.A from The Otis College of Art & Design. Her work examines historicized trauma within the context of race, socio-economic disenfranchisement and systemic oppression.

In sculpture, she conflates materials such as wood, wax, metal and paper as surrealistic metaphors, in order to re-imagine the relevance between current and colonized history and the emotional terrains and circumstance that remain.

Visit the artist’s website: www.reginaherod.com