Through abstraction and collaboration, I incorporate social practices in my creative process highlighting rituals of Black experiences. Accumulating moments of interaction months at a time, the natural oils from the body, hands and feet, build up on the blank Yupo paper. Black ink is then applied, resisting the oily touches, rendering the invisible marks. The vast range of values that develop in each composition symbolizes the notion that blackness is not a monolith.
As I teeter as conductor and conduit of the process, the community becomes the co-author and brush marks of the finished piece. Like following the leader in Liturgical dance movements, I respond to the marks the community has made through a reflection of my own experiences and being a participant in their conversations.
Footprints in the Sand (In collaboration with Prophetic Praise Liturgical Dance Ministry, Baltimore, MD) 2023 Ink on Yupo paper
Breaking (In collaboration with All of the Above Hip Hop Academy, East Lansing, MI) 2024 Ink on Yupo paper
Black Banner 2024 Ink on Yupo paper
Freedom, Ground (in collaboration with DIGGIN’, East Lansing, MI) 2024 Ink on Yupo paper
Freedom, Ground (in collaboration with DIGGIN’, East Lansing, MI) detail. 2024 Ink on Yupo paper