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Last week, French artist Nicholle Kobi showcased her Parisian Instant exhibition in Johannesburg. But strangely enough, her exhibitions apparently get more traction in cities like New Orleans and even in Johannesburg, than they do in Paris, writes Lynsey Chutel for Quartz.
She has apparently always struggled to find work in Paris.
The artist hails from Kinshasa but grew up in Normandy. She mainly draws black women, which has even led some to call her work exclusionary and racist. She told Quartz that she draws black women as she believes them to be and interact with each other, and not how Parisian society 'prefers' them to be.
It's one of the reasons the Carfree Black Girl trope became so important.
Often the token friend of colour in a predominantly white group or as one half of a couple, Nicholle flips stereotypes of black Parisians on their heads, creating among other images a group of black Parisian women at the Eiffel tower, and black couples and families.
Her illustrations highlight black relationships, and challenge the, often flat, interpretations of black culture in France.
Calling out someone as racist or exclusionary for finally representing people and cultures that have never been included in the mix, is unimaginative.
Shop her beautiful art here.
There are very few illustrations or illustrators that feature predominantly black women or quite often women of any race outside of white. Locally, we've fallen in love with Phatu whose account @phatudesigns features digital illustrations of mainly black women wearing killer outfits.
And another great account to follow is @yagalifefacts featuring a black female character dealing with the everyday struggles of life.
We hope to see many more such accounts pop up locally and internationally.
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