My work interrogates the intersection of racial and cultural identity, femininity, familial ties, love, and memory. I explore the expressions of an individual and its intersection with the collective subconscious, using oil paints and figuration to interrogate notions of status and respectability politics. Photography, often of family and friends, is integral to my process, contemplating its historical significance in Black American homes as tools of representation and access. As illustrated by bell hooks, photography allows for “a space for intimacy between the image and myself,” we are able to construct our own representation of our identity in a society that constantly assigns us a narrative that removes us from our own humanity, and I believe painting allows us to do the same. The visual aesthetics that are associated with these mediums allow me to define myself for myself and in turn engage in a collective memory that transcends the colonial gaze. 

Although photography plays an instrumental role in the production of my work, I think there is great value in how the world is filtered through the painting process. Painting creates a new environment that is not bound by the limitations imposed by reality. I typically will use the images I take to contextualize the composition of the figures, not to render these scenes as direct replicas of the photographs I take. Having grown up in a spiritual household, the women in my family instilled in me the importance of tending to the relationship we have with our ancestors and the people that came before us. As demonstrated in The Portrait of the Girls Who Had Their Eyes, the purpose of illustrating a painting within a painting offers the function of an altar and renders feelings of familiarity of the people we choose to hang on the walls around us. I also chose to include mirrors as one of the many objects that frame the figures as they allow ourselves to see us reflected in the people hanging in our walls, or the viewer to see themselves in that reflection. 

In my sculptural work, The Trophy, I hang a basketball from an ornamented frame, allowing the unadorned ball to take on the roll of the figure. Three pieces of twine are interwoven to support the basketball onto the frame, referencing Ecclesiastes 4:12, which states that when facing obstacles, “a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” This emphasizes the ways in which the court can offer sanctuary and community through a spiritual experience, beyond the material world. By placing a basketball within the frame, value is assigned to the basketball as it is worthy of our examination. Through this construction, I aim to recontextualize what we consider a painting while allowing us to think about what it means to have access. 

My work confronts the cultural narratives surrounding preconceived notions of identity and historical avenues of which these identities have been situated. In my series engaging a myriad of basketball players I examine what lies behind basketball? What does it mean to humanize Black individuals in this arena? In my diptych entitled I Am a Man, I pay homage not only to the 1968 Dr. King and Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, but also to Ligon’s Untitled, 1988. Each of these works demand a recognition of humanity and agency that is so often stripped from Black people. By contrast to the original black on white construction of the painting, I chose to use white on black. This black background, similarly to The Trophy replaces figurative representation of Black people, instead it takes on the role of a human form. The lettering for “am” is constructed from worn leather from a basketball, as I contemplate the pressures that are often assigned to athletes working at the most elite level. Black athletes have been so often reduced to exhibitions, with even our most loved and prominent figures being told to “shut up and dribble.” A direct gaze forces the viewer to see the player as human first and allows the figure to be seen as an individual, consequently giving him a sense of agency. By delving into these questions, I highlight the agency of players and the cultural significance of their artistry on the court. Each brushstroke aims to honor the individual while acknowledging the community-oriented spirit of the game.

In these works, I seek to reflect on the interplay between individual excellence and communal legacy, as well as the intricacies of human emotion and the artistic nature and cultural nuances that are at play within the game of basketball. I am interested in examining the multiplicity of emotions that athletes, interchangeable with artists, experience when playing the game. Through this exploration, I hope to convey the beauty of Black culture as it thrives in and through basketball, transforming a game into a powerful expression of identity and resilience.

Drawing inspiration from passing moments and curated images, I seek to construct a reality beyond imposed narratives of Black American identity, emphasizing self-identification and self-actualization within curated spaces.