The Watermelon Couch is an ongoing project that explores the history of Black people in America and their relationship to agriculture, self-identity, and prosperity. Personally, I decided to make a watermelon couch cause it sounded like a dope idea. One thing lead to another and here I am, chasing a project that has me exploring and researching abundant possibilities.

2022 Juneteenth Debut

The Watermelon Couch made its debut on Juneteenth as part of the ‘FRDM’ Exhibit by Alena Museum in Oakland, CA.

Thank you to the donors. This wouldn’t be possible without your support.

Donators: 1. Derrick C., 2. John Che., 3. Alysha E., 4. Madenh H., 5. Eddie Walker., Erica Dub., 6. Mia Thermop., 7. Medina M., 8. Jessica T., 9. Tonez. 10. C. Irish

Artwork

Juneteenth weekend I did two live paintings. They are both watermelon abstracts in my petal block style. I came back to the studio to add the finishing touches.

Research and Links to Read Up On

As I conduct my own research I’ll be adding to this page. Basically, I’m going down the google and youtube rabbit hole to find information and inspiration. Here is a collection of my favorite web articles and youtube videos that have been beneficial to the development of this project thus far.

1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/watermelon-racism_l_5d2dfea4e4b0a873f6428b9c

2. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/

3. https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/8/29/20836933/watermelon-racist-history-black-people

Some Kool Videos to Watch