ARTIST STATEMENT
SKIN DEEP: THEN and NOW (2020)
In 2010, still in the afterglow of Obama’s victory, I viewed the black white discourse as a
dance. I believed that society was learning to put the ugly past behind us to move
beyond the limited values of racial prejudice.  While aware that pockets of white culture
still viewed black people as inferior, I did not believe the issue was as broadly systemic
as we know today.

The work of 2010 emerged from a view embracing racial equivalence as intrinsic in our
humanity; desire for love, the anguish of loss, the shared struggles of being vertical on
earth, the challenge of forging a future with passion, and carving out space for beauty as
a respite.

The balance of black and white material in the 2010 work was influenced by the fact
that far more natural black stones and jewels are available than white. The necklace is
made with various semi-precious black beads and the one pearl. This necklace is a good
reflection of global population, the majority of the world is non-white people.

Black Body, Object and Subject
Materials: black pearl, labradorite, sterling silver
Framed: 6” x 8”

This piece relates the historic social context of black people in these United States of America as object and now as both subject and object.

In 2020 we saw people of all colors demonstrating together to call attention to the lack of basic human rights and racial equality for Black people and campaigning against various forms of racism.

The spring 2020 BLM surge became a fantastic catalyst lifting all people considered the ‘other’ to demand that institutional racism STOP.  While recognizing the good, this work draws attention to the black body experience in the context of these questions. Is there recognition that the  Black experience of went from feeling the curious eyes of dominant culture watching us in ill-informed judgment from afar, to being intimately surrounded with a rush of inquiry requesting access to our darkest places?  Where is the questione & awareness that the Black body is exhausted, still laden from a history of being object and subject?

ARTIST STATEMENT
SKIN DEEP (2010)

Monique Birault’s jewelry embodies and celebrates the asymmetry of nature and the beauty of imperfection as a reflection of humanity and life itself.  Her creative process is about discovery, like sculpture. Through her jewelry Monique seeks to spread delight and hopes to empower people to be more comfortable with their own imperfections. She hopes that as people enjoy their jewelry, they will be reminded that beauty exists in imperfection and perhaps in some small part will lead to greater self acceptance as avenues to peace and harmony.

The Skin Deep Collection
What is it to be Black, What is it to be White.  Does It Matter, Why and to Whom?
The jewelry made for this show will be all Black and White, sometimes the designs may appear to playing out metaphors for the life of this discourse, and sometimes simply being themselves, stones in jewelry.  My motivation for these new works stems from my internal and external relationship with the Black / White, White / Black conversation.
Growing up as part of the Los Angeles Utopian Experiment, now a self proclaimed “Multi-Culti Angelino” I found it discomforting to pondering my take on the black/white conversation, it was never prominent during my formative years on my island in Los Angeles.  In my teen years I realized that people thought of me as different and unique, but no one would ever say why.  People, regardless of their color, would ask me…”what are you?”… As a young adult I was asked to join ‘Diversity Committees’ to be the “Black Voice”.  I said there is no singular “Black Voice”.  ..….Growing up I was taught to identify myself as an American, period, and I still do.  The landscape of Black / White, White / Black has become a multi-layered topic. It is no longer just a question Skin.

BIO
Brought up in and around Hollywood, Monique Birault is see’s her self as a multicultural Southern Californian. She started her formal education in music and graduated with a master’s degree in architecture.  These interests and her insatiable curiosity have lead her to travel the world. Architecture and music heavily influence her creativity.  She is sensitive to rhythm in combination with shapes and materials. Stimulated by the stones, their power and natural beauty, she creates one of a kind jewelry in various lines and series.  Her soul expressed through her jewelry is deeply tied to a desire to express our common humanity and as learned through all she has seen and experienced through her travels, and cultural explorations.
Monique’s work is in private collections and she is available to create custom commissioned pieces.