Meadows conveys struggles with identity through art

Madison Meadows, a sophomore screen acting major, submitted a photo series titled “White Washed” to the Chapman literary magazine Calliope, conveying her experiences as a woman of color at a predominantly white institution. Photo courtesy of Meadows

In a 1968 book titled “War and Peace in the Global Village,” a study of how electronic media shapes our environment, authors Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore wrote the following: 

“One thing about which fish know exactly nothing is water, since they have no anti-environment which would enable them to perceive the element they live in.”

That quote served as much of the inspiration, rationale and foundation for student Madison Meadows’ piece in the upcoming spring 2021 issue of Chapman’s Calliope Art and Literary Magazine. In her submission, Meadows, a sophomore screen acting major, chose to depict her own experiences as a Black woman at a predominantly white institution (PWI). 

The photos for the piece show Meadows in a white top and blue bottoms, draped over a chair placed on the beach. The sun is beginning to rise, creating an orange hue on the horizon, as she poses while waves wash ashore.

“The piece was a cultural reset, in the way that I had gone to PWIs for middle school and then I went to an art school in high school where I was in (Dallas, Texas), and it was a very homey place,” Meadow said. “After that, and having to reset that mindset and going to a PWI here in Orange County, was like I am back to where I once was.”

Meadows thought of that broad conceptual vision before any specific creative direction. The latter came during quarantine, when she had an epiphany while watching an ocean documentary. 

“It is called ‘White Wash’ because of the feelings that I was feeling, especially during the pandemic, of feeling washed out and spit out of the sea,” Meadows said of the piece. “Fish in the sea are called schools, and it made me think of the school that I am at and how I feel that I am washed out of my environment, because I feel so isolated sometimes.”

As additional topics, Meadows also tried to highlight her feelings of imposter syndrome and code-switching — the latter defined as adjusting a style of speech or behavior to feel more comfortable in a specific environment.

“Code-switching kind of sucks, where you come home and your roommates don’t look like you,” Meadows said. “Even in my space, which is supposed to be my safe place where I come home, I feel like I have to code-switch there.”

These feelings of having to adapt and assimilate one’s own identity to others in order to feel comfortable fit into the overall theme of Meadows’ piece, she said. 

“My piece is about understanding your environment, understanding the people that are in your environment and understanding that not everyone is going to adapt to that same environment in the same way,” Meadows said. 

Fish are unaware of the water and life beyond it — the very environment in which they live — unless they become washed ashore away from their schools. Ultimately, “White Wash” is a reflection of that idea from a student that has been pulled by the tides out of the ocean and back in again.

“You could be swimming in water for the rest of your life and that is all you know,” Meadows said.