Artist Statement
From a young age, I understood that much of society viewed me as less than whole. Growing up in the Deep South, I learned early what it meant to be Black in America and the weight of the history that came with it. Developing emotional intelligence became essential to my survival and sense of self. While I can’t recall the exact moment my artistic journey began, art quickly became a language through which I processed emotion, anxiety, and the world around me. During my undergraduate studies in psychology, I deepened this connection through independent study, allowing my understanding of the human mind and my creative practice to evolve together. This symbiosis continues to shape both my identity as an artist and my approach to making work.
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My paintings unfold as nonlinear personal narratives—stories of loss, grief, healing, and transformation. I explore the tension between strength and vulnerability, often through regional and cultural references such as the cherry blossoms that bloom in Birmingham, Alabama, or natural materials imbued with symbolism, like crystals and water. My influences range from Italian Renaissance painting to Japanese animation, and I draw upon both to create fantastical worlds that exist on the edge of reality—worlds that imagine what could be. The divine and otherworldly figures in my work challenge the societal limitations placed upon me, offering visions of expansion, reclamation, and becoming. Through shifts in time—flashbacks and flashforwards—I present fractured glimpses of how the world perceives me versus how I perceive myself.
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