J.Nicole Hatfield: Coloring Images Past To Decolonize The Lexicon Of Our Future

This isn’t just an IG filter on your #TBT of Grandma when she was hot. This is coloring the single-dimensional sepia stoicism that determined how millions, and then the generations beyond them, perceived all things native. And that perception changed the color of an entire continent; from this, we learn that semiotics cannot be underestimated, and also that it can be utilized to our advantage—to heal, to mobilize, and inspire, each other.

So take it all in: the neon streaks quilting the flesh tones, and juxtaposing those eyes, the same eyes that surveilled eons, that withstood assimilation and termination, that are peering through the inspired oculi of First Nations women today, embodied by the brushstrokes of J. Nicole Hatfield, in her series Indigenous Goddess.

J.NiCole Hatfield’s Indigenous Goddess series

“Growing up, I was scared to start painting because I thought it was a male thing to do, not something women do. That’s what I thought when I was little”     

J.Nicole Hatfield for Project 562

Our youth are still being imprinted with messages that endanger their inborn power and natural inclinations on all levels, which is why it is so essential that we pinpoint the origin through artistic expression. Just as Hatfield’s pieces function as her voice, indigenous girls can find theirs, and cast away the fears that silence them. By remembering that social constructs are only what we allow them to be, we can color history through our own eyes, and truly own the indigenous goddess within us.

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To learn more about J.Nicole Hatfield, please visit her website at www.jnicolehatfield.com.