Toni Scott's art exhibited at the Stone Center

Artist Toni Scott is bringing her West Coast style to North Carolina for the first time.

Scott’s exhibit “Bloodlines: The Work of Toni Scott” is now on display in the Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

The exhibit utilizes multiple mediums, such as digital rendering, to condense centuries worth of African-American history into 30 years of artistic expression.

“Bloodlines” is part of an over-arching series at the Stone Center, entitled “La Sombra y el Espiritu: Women’s Healing Rituals in the Diaspora.”

Joseph Jordan, director of the Stone Center and a UNC professor, has been working closely with Scott on commissioning and bringing her work to UNC.

“My favorite part is coming in, sitting and closing my eyes to open them again, noticing something different every time,” he said.

“This exhibit is a retrospective of her work. It takes us from 1990 to 2012.”

Jordan described “Bloodlines” as one woman’s exploration of her different heritages and how those can be followed through her re-imagining of relatives — both slave and free.

Jordan said he discovered Scott and found her work inspiring enough to extend an invitation to Chapel Hill.

“Although she has never been to North Carolina before, she is super excited to come to UNC for this opportunity,” said Clarissa Goodlett, public communications specialist at the Stone Center.

“Bloodlines” has unofficially been captioned as “the African-American journey from slavery to freedom” — a struggle that has deep roots in this state and the South in general.

Scott said she has family in N.C., furthering her connections to the state and her excitement to visit.

“Scott is fairly well known on the West Coast but not so much on the East Coast,” Jordan said.

“We want to introduce her to this side and reacquaint her to a part of the U.S. that really is part of her family.”

Scott said she draws inspiration for her artwork from many different places, such as her mixed heritage, hometown of Los Angeles and her everyday experiences.

“My ethnicity also inspired the survival in seeking out who I am in a search for identity and feeling whole,” Scott said.

Scott said her love of God and her deep knowledge of her ancestors blend deeply into her art and especially into the pieces that encompass “Bloodlines.”

“The show combines the abstract and good portions of the historical African-American struggle and for the first time this entire experience is being exhibited together,” Scott said.

“It tells two journeys as far as my creative journeys are concerned.”

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.