Renée Cox

Renée Cox (b.1960, Colgate, Jamaica) is a provocative artist, photographer, and political activist who fearlessly exploresconcepts of empowerment, identity, and injustice; often achieved through the striking and controversial use of her ownbody. Photographing her clothed and nude body serves as a celebration of black womanhood and a critique of a racistand sexist society. She challenges racial and gendered stereotypes by boldly confronting and subverting them. Cox’sphotographs are a bold socio-political commentary that challenges entrenched social norms, celebrates black identity,and encourages critical dialogue on race, gender, and empowerment. Cox has explored numerous identities throughouther life: Catholic schoolgirl, wife, mother, woman who knows and shows her sexual pleasure, and black woman artistcontesting an art history that has all but excluded her race. A cross between Diary of a Mad Housewife and The SensualWoman, American Family is a veritable minefield of taboos, revealed by the miscegenated family album and the eroticdisplay of the artist's own beautiful body.