Version II The Black Paintings (Fear of Black Consciousness) are undergoing further evolution. These works now incorporate corrugated iron as a backdrop, alongside shiny black fabric, expanding foam, African carvings, and wigs. The inclusion of corrugated iron is particularly significant as it explores concepts of extraction and exploitation, issues elaborated in Forbes’ wider interests of China in Africa. While the corrugated iron adds considerable aesthetic value to the artwork, it simultaneously raises concerns about the exploitation of people, their lands, and the environment.

 

China’s increasing dominance in global trade and manufacturing has led to numerous contracts with African leaders, granting Chinese enterprises access to valuable natural resources under terms that are frequently disadvantageous to African populations. This neo-colonial economic engagement exacerbates existing issues of poverty and conflict within African countries, thereby contributing to significant migration flows towards Europe and other parts of the world.

Furthermore, the influx of cheap Chinese products, such as shoes, clothes, furniture, electronics etc into African markets has detrimental effects on local businesses and manufacturing sectors, perpetuating economic dependency and underdevelopment.

China’s involvement in Africa has expanded significantly over the past two decades, driven primarily by its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aka One Belt, One Road and substantial financial investments in major infrastructure projects. This engagement has profound implications for African governments, their economies, and social structures, particularly concerning the financing of development projects and the employment of Chinese labour at the expense of African labour.

 

The Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, aims to enhance global trade and stimulate economic growth across China and beyond by developing infrastructure and broadening trade links. In Africa, the BRI has facilitated extensive investment in transportation, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure. Chinese loans have financed numerous high-profile projects, including railways, highways, ports and other critical infrastructure. These investments are often structured as part of long-term loans, which African governments secure to finance these development endeavours.

 

At the global level, black consciousness faced the implication of global Euromodern colonialism. Its globality promised the threat of an aspiring antiblack world. This global challenge brought black consciousness as an awareness of hatred of black people into facing Black consciousness—the kind that reaches for possibilities by which to become agents of history.

Blacks of the first kind, or with black consciousness, often avoid addressing the injustice of societal efforts to make the world antiblack. They attempt, instead, to fix themselves through adaptation.

Lewis Gordon[i]

 

This evolution in the paintings underscores the complex interplay between aesthetics and socio-political commentary. The thematic shift towards incorporating materials like corrugated iron reflects a broader discourse within Forbes’ art practice on global economic practices and their impact on the black diaspora societies. 

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[i] Gordon Lewis R. Fear of Black Consciousness Pg 142