Artist Statement

I grew up in a household reared by a set of parents who did not have any interest  in the underpinning elements that inform the black plight. Their relationship to race , politics and their overall identity was eclipsed by the grave forces of the crack crisis . In turn, my attention was consumed by survival up until the age of 21 when I witnessed the national reaction to Trayvon Martins murder.  I too had no real relationship to race and what it meant to not only the American project itself  but to the material experiences of black people around the world.  I began to grow a deep interest in the history of black resistance and what resisting meant - can mean,  to modern day organization for Freedom. 

My art work is not only a social commentary on the oppressed response to state violence , but an excavation of moments in time — people in time who sacrificed a great deal in the name liberation. Most recently Ive been inspired to (re)imagine what resistance and victory can look like alongside social plights that are continuously fortified despite the cyclical implications they have on society.  By rooting my work in both a resisting, and imaginative frame work,  I grapple with the questions of what does the past mean to the present, of what can the past mean to the future?

My pieces plumb the depths of our historical consciousness to stylistically and incisively depict subjects/figures committed to movements for liberation and freedom. My work combines portrait with literary technique to provoke profound meditations on the interplay between (or dialectic of) race, domination, subjectivity,  incarceration, resistance, agency, and liberty in the vivid animation of these characters, their words, and thoughts. 

When In engaging with my work one must consider the usage of both visual mediums (video) and auditorial mediums (song). These elements of my work are essential to my process and serve as not only modes of curation, but entry points for inquisition. The collaboration of these mediums throughout my catalog create an immersive experience, and an opportunity to engage with the underpinning perspectives/ ideas that informed the visual art works themselves. 

Bio 

I am multi disciplinary artist from Watts , California who have dedicated my career to carceral work centered in Education, Justice and Transformation. My area of focus directly impacts both youth and adults that are most susceptible to the violences led out by Americas' carceral apparatus. I hold a Master’s of Arts in Social Cultural Analysis from NYU and is currently a Candidate in Howard University History program.  Additionally,  I am a visiting artist for the Prison Education Project where I teach an original program called The Story From Within , and I am also the Associate Director of Curriculum and Pedagogy at exalt youth.