ARTIST STATEMENT

I often find myself substituting the indefinite history of my existence for something more tangible and concrete, noticing that most of the answers exist within nature. In the permeation of sunlight onto greenery, I see a hopeful self-portrait. In the reflective puddle imitating the sky, I come across reminders of the opportunity and vastness of this plane. I’m always searching for things that contribute towards my ever-evolving self-identity in the comfort zones of specific documentation, arbitrary linkages, and fantastic imagined lands. This has become the basis of my art.

Being an Afro-Surrealist, most of my artwork constitutes as self-portraiture and a consistent theme is exploring the relationship between nature and existence whilst acknowledging a greater force that resides within both. Through my work I am understanding how the spiritual and physical realm can merge and I’m repeatedly exploring this idea by working with a plethora of mediums, touching on interconnectedness and the congregation of relationships. For example, I take photographs and make digital collages to then paint. I will record videos, edit and project them onto paintings to lean against the corner of a wall. I collect objects to place among writings as installations and I’m interested in how these ideas inform each other in a shared space.  My work continues to build a narrative and “presupposes that beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is [my] job to uncover it,” as stated in the Afro-Surrealist manifesto.

Within my work resides an exaggeration of being present within the noise with constant themes including acknowledgment of foundations like the body, looking to nature for wisdom and extreme depictions of rest.  I meditate on the concept of ‘grounding’ which is a familiar term used when describing processes one can take to balance their physical, emotional and mental state with hopes to reconnect more with themselves. The constant of nature inspires the consistency of my work which all become mirrored projections of me that will continue to grow with time.