Week 5: Stencils

Personally, I thought that choosing a stencil for my album was difficult so instead I chose four, all of which are of utmost importance to me and my identity. On the front, I stenciled the Adinkra humility and strength symbol and included my mother’s birthday in roman numerals (vi xxviii mcmlx or June 28, 1960). The reason I chose those stencils was because my mother is the reason for my being; almost everything I do has been driven by her motivation and inspiration towards me.  An immigrant from Mexico, my mother grew up poor, never went to school, and has known what it is to work since the age of five. She refuses to believe in materialism and always tells me that silence is the most powerful scream; it is for those reasons she has been the most humble person I know and has taught me to be the same. Additionally, she is who taught me strength and reinforced my womanhood even when sexist individuals have stigmatized that identity. On the back, I decided to stencil in a pair of wings which typically symbolize imagination, thought, freedom, victory, and the Ankh cross right in between both wings. I chose the wings primarily because I am an independent individual; I enjoy being alone and I like to view opportunities and the world as boundless, which metaphorically represents a bird. To conclude, I chose the Ankh cross which symbolizes eternal life in Egyptian religion. However, the Ankh cross has always looked like a key to me so I put the wings and cross together because I thought they were harmonious in meaning―I hold a universal key which opens doors to wherever life may take me.