MInd & Body

With my body of work I want to romanticize blackness. I believe black artists need safe spaces to fantasize and think outside the real world in a way that contributes to culture and well-being instead of taking from them. Being in a position where comfort and needs don’t come easy makes thinking outside the physical world difficult. I believe every black artist in all forms deserves the comfort and safety to explore the intangible and metaphysical. I was inspired by African history and blackness that wasn’t related to racism or pain. I wanted to make art about the surreal and fantastical experiences of blackness. Usually ideas come to me based on things that stuck with me in life. It might be a quote from a conversation or movie. I let the thoughts sit in my head for awhile usually the ones that linger become paintings.

Damocles

This is the oldest painting I have; it has been with me in 3 homes. Titled "Damocles," I wanted to capture the feeling of living in the eye of the storm. The feeling of stability being held up by a single string. There is a calm and peace in knowing that you are a single step away from that string breaking. You are forced to live and focus on the moment.

I was inspired by the sword of Damocles when I made this painting. A story meant to symbolize the weight and cost of power. My painting focuses less on power and more on the weight that is carried in the mind.

oil on canvas

22"x 46"

1000$

Burnt’ faced Adam

I couldn’t decide on a title for this for a long time, but I think the title above fits well. I was thinking about the Lucy and Arti skulls, the earliest ancestors of Homosapiens that were found in East Africa, when I painted this, meaning the start of humanity was in Africa. Ethiopia translates to “burnt face”, a name given to Africans because the Greeks believed that our skin was dark because we were burnt by Apollo’s sun. Ethiopia was also a name used for ancient Africans before Abyssinians adopted it. Ancient Abyssinia had a large role in the start of Christianity in addition to being the land where humanity started. I made this painting to highlight the role that Africa plays not only in the start of humanity but also culture. I depicted Adam as an African man in my interpretation of the history of my culture and belief.

Oil and acrylic on canvas

24” x 30”

400$

Machine G+n Learning

Machine gun Learning is a painting about camouflage. In the past, face paint and other camouflage techniques were used for aesthetics and survival. In an increasingly surveillant world, face paint can be used again for survival to hide against facial recognition technology. I painted a small patch of reflective paint on the figure on the bottom. Reflective tape can be used to blind cameras using flash photography. The title disguises the word g*n from systems that are able to track, store, and retrieve your text exchanges. Be safe. Be intentional. Protect your autonomy.

Oil and acrylic on canvas

24” x 30”

400$

Sketches

$50-$100