“In all my work, I try to say - You may be given a load of sour lemons, why not try to make a dozen lemon meringue pies?”- Maya Angelou
As a black women born in America I grew up puzzled by the fact that I was stamped at birth. Put into a position where I faced judgement and bigotry for only merely existing with the color of my unchangeable skin. Someone, most people, everyone already had something to say before I could even speak. My blackness became their hatred, greed, lies that created slashes for centuries that denied us our liberty and freedom. Out of curiosity I started to think about things black people couldn’t do. Some were just imbecilic thoughts that eventually were true. Like Maya Angelou, my sour lemons is the hatred that was vaulted onto me since birth by millions. As an African American, I am making images that discuss the inner and outer intricacies of my world in an effort to compress that hatred.
In the surge of great mortification and fabrication of the crusades demolition that is America, I sought the idea of creating Sanctuary to uphold the history that is forcibly being erased. The more I thought about the things that we as black people couldn’t do; it became my Sanctuary to create a place where we did do the things we were never supposed to do, be, or feel. Time has shown us over and over the visuality of who belongs and who doesn’t. There's rejection and cultural norms that don't fit the "standard" of what a black person is or should be. And our visuality is erased and often misused in the guidance of forgetting and letting go. Tensions arise between freedom and equality. The overarching goal is creating a false experience that abstracts a persons knowledge of the rawness of the United States. Sanctuary reveals a elation that insights a normal reality.
This new body of work takes on different challenges of seeing and being a witness to the continued dismay that society apposed upon Black people in America. It depicts laughter, joy, freedom to be undoubtedly yourself in a place that is unapologetic and bliss. Sanctuary showcases for instance, the ravishment and marvel of being black kids enjoying the outdoors with friends without fear of being told to leave. My intention with this work is to showcase flagrant, bold pieces that resonant heavily within the times of 2025. Sanctuary in of itself is a form of protest. My lineage that has existed for centuries grew from the upheld battles of pain, sacrifice and wanting to be embedded with civility and kindness. The history that holds and my engagement within it is my constant need to explore the civil unrest of why things came to be. I deem it necessary to create a space where I can feel the hope of tomorrow. To remember the continued unjust history of America that I have to continue to live in. Creating self-portraits that allow me to express the many sides of the black image that were often never shown, or forced to be hidden and denied entry into a white only totality.
In highlighting these moments from personal experience to history I use my art to create work that details the growing nature of unseen visibility and the lack of representation throughout history for African Americans. Once again, in our present times, hatred and bigotry is on full display without any consciences. Sanctuary holds a space for Black people in an unwavering environment to be hard and free.
(2025)
