This TED Talk features artist

The Kempelais Cesani, recorded live at TED Global 2017.

I'd like for you to take a moment to imagine this with me.

You're a little girl of five years old.

Sitting in front of a mirror, you ask yourself,

do I exist? In this space, there is very little context, and so you move into a different one, one filled with people. Surely now you know

you're not a figment of your own imagination. You breathe their air. You see them.

So they must see you. And yet, you still can't help but wonder, do I only exist when people speak to me?

Pretty heavy thoughts for a child, right?

But through various artworks that reflect upon our society,

I came to understand how a young black girl

can grow up feeling as if she's not seen,

and perhaps she doesn't exist.

You see, if young people don't have positive images of themselves

and all that remains are negative stereotypes,

this affects their self-image.

But it also affects the way that the rest of society treats them.

I discovered this, having lived in Cape Town,

for about five years at the time.

I felt a deep sense of dislocation and invisibility.

I couldn't see myself represented.

I couldn't see the woman who've raised me, the ones who've influenced me,

...