“Bela Aurora” is part of my series called “Noir” where the focus is on individuals with a greater intimacy of perspective. Using the figure against a single color and uniform background.

I try to represent black people with a lot of black paint, like having not so much highlight. From a young age, we learned that black represents evil and darkness of the unknown. And white is the light, purity, and peace of the divine.

The lighter your skin, the more acceptable you are in society. The darker your skin, the more marginalized you become. I also want to demonstrate that we can produce beauty in the context of a figure that has this kind of velvety darkness.

“Bela Aurora” has this woman turns towards the viewer positioned against the backdrop of a vibrant bunch of immense blue-spotted pink bananas. This motif, which I has previously used across a number of my murals, invokes a wondrous world of abundance and celebration. Using a simplified palette of bold blues and pinks, it enhances the soft intensity of the woman's dark skin. The work's title, referencing the dawn, compare her beauty with the sunrise, defying any association of black identity with the negative perceptions of the dark.

- Zéh Palito