The illustrator of this beautiful portrait is Nick Manning, a second-year animation student.
When Manning first created this piece, the purpose was to simply fulfill the expectations of an assignment for his life drawing course he took online over quarantine. Needing a live subject, the main person he had access to was his sister, and his only goal was to capture her beauty as she is, without the intent of making a statement.
Unfortunately, shortly after the creation of this portrait, Manning’s sister went to school where she was insulted for the natural texture of her hair. According to Manning, this transformed this piece from one created out of simple love and appreciation for an individual into one with a larger message of appreciating Afrocentric features. Manning calls this an “ironic and tragic” change. Just the simple act of existing in her natural state made his sister the target of racist comments, which made this loving tribute turn into a statement of social justice.
Despite this, Manning has made sure that his sister’s beauty is still the central focus of this piece. Manning describes her hair as a “bush that produces the lushest leaves, the most fragrant fruits, … and can withstand any tempest or hurricane.” He goes on to compare his sister’s beautiful hair to a redwood tree due to the deep history that stems from the roots grown by their ancestors, whose guides continue to “push the tree up and up.”
Manning has expressed frustration with the way that the unique features of black boys and girls have been dehumanized for so long. Through the depiction of his sister, Manning wants black beauty to be celebrated rather than continuously held up to Eurocentric standards as it has been for so many years.
Manning ended his description of this piece with a thoughtful quote. “It is a sad realization when love has become a skill or talent rather than an innate human characteristic.”
Manning is an incredibly talented artist and animator who uses art to express who he is. If you want to see more of his wonderful work, his Instagram is https://www.instagram.com/nickmanninganimation/?hl=en.
