Description

“Black. A color that is often only ever associated with negative connotations and stereotypes. A disposition that runs so deep that it has colored societal notions of Black people, despite our lack of singularity in existence, our lack of monolithic state of being. Black. A color that is connected to everything and all corners of the world. A breeding ground and birthplace for life and innovation.

“After all, out of darkness came the light.

“Melanin: Black is an exaltation to Blackness, the state of living within a Black body, on the most abstract of levels. Love, reflection, emotion, and divinity collide at the epicenter of the collective discussion surrounding what it means to be Black, what those experiences look like, and the ways in which those experiences and meanings are constantly being redefined.”

— Dre Hill, Author

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“With Melanin: Black, Dre Hill has composed a body of work that is visceral, elegant, and evocative. Each piece weaves a story of Black divinity that echoes with love, wisdom, and magic. This is a read that resonates deeply.”

— Bri Stokes, Artist & Curator

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I am a divine being, both created and creator. Originator and innovator…

“Where do I even begin? I didn’t realize I was crying whilst reading Hill’s Melanin: Black until I tasted salt on my lips. Hill’s soft yet poignant offering to you, to me, to us, his Black kinfolk, is what a revolutionary act towards others you see home in is.

Melanin: Black is that slow Sunday stroll through hardened rocks and soft marshy spots that has you breathing like you are tasting fresh air for the first time. Hill takes you by the hand on this gorgeous journey of what it means to be spoken into existence as Black. And god, does Hill speak each and every one of us into existence.”

— Thokozani Mbwana, Poet

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Dre Hill is an artist and storyteller from Fort Worth, TX. He graduated from Drury University in 2021 with his B.A. in Animation and Writing, where he became serious about his craft as an artist.

His debut chapbook i love you means nothing was published by Alien Buddha Press (2022). His visual and literary work has been published in the likes of Afro Literary Magazine, celestite poetry, Currents, Hallowzine, and more. Follow more of Dre’s work via social media at @drehillart or through his website www.drehillart.com.