My work is intended to create a bridge between our ancestor's experiences and our familiar contemporary existence. Without an understanding of our past, we have no real grip on the present. I am specifically interested in the African American experience and social injustice within the Black community. My working process begins with genealogical research. I ask specific questions I try to answer throughout the creation of the series. Working on a community or a neighborhood where the subjects of the series live is important. After collecting vintage materials from archives and books that support the research, I can piece together a narrative. Typically, the vintage materials I use are from between 1960-195 and I collage to establish the historical roots of the piece. The collage “clothe” the figure with “textiles” that express anguish, beauty, solitude and community that exists within the individual Black identity. I always paint the brown skin of the subject. And, while sometimes collaging the sky of the work to connect the subject to our ancestors who guide us, I always paint the surrounding landscape. Natural elements within my work are rooted from my experience growing up on a remote farm in Ohio where I experienced racism and homophobia. This fuels me to explore Black presence directly and indirectly throughout history, the Black individual perspective throughout history and what that means for contemporary Black people in America.
