1992 L.A. uprising: Art exhibition highlights solidarity between Korean and Black communities
Sixty influential African American and Korean American artists were invited to participate in this exhibition," said Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles curator, Tammy Cho. The exhibition embodies the power of art to heal and foster communication.
Lili Bernard's painting,"Her granddaughter, her son," incorporates Korean and African symbolism, and honors two young lives lost three decades ago, including Latasha Harlins, who was killed by a Korean store owner in 1991. "Eddie Song Lee on April 30, the second day of the riots was killed by Korean fire when he went into Koreatown trying to defend the stores that were being looted and burned," said Bernard, founder of Black Artists in Los Angeles and co-curator of the exhibition.
Bernard's son Elias Ferguson and their family friend Julie are in the center honoring the two victims, flanked by Harlins' grandmother and Lee's mother. Bernard described a deep emotional impact while painting their faces, reflecting on how they were killed. She hopes the painting mirrors the theme of the exhibition: healing and unity of the two communities.
"The large pink flowers are ceiba flowers, which are indigenous to Africa and Cuba where I was born," said Bernard, who incorporated the Rose of Sharon, also known asSouth Korea's national flower."They believe that it hails from heaven, and it represents the everlasting life."