Artist Statement
The work I create is grounded in principles of painting, sculpture, and drawing featuring diverse representations of Black immigrant women who are my central subjects. The work shows women of the African diaspora as multifaceted individuals with agency. Depicting the complication of what’s gained and lost in resilience. Individuals that are documented and undocumented people, serving as essential participants in America’s workforce.
My artwork tells stories of women’s labor, often unseen and untold. Focusing on immigrant Black women doing domestic labor, whose contributions play an integral role in the function of our society. My practice establishes formal and intuitive processes that use interdisciplinary techniques to stitch together intersecting themes with personal narratives. I’m inspired by my mother and my socialization to do these jobs in relation to the social complexity regarding class, gender, citizenship, commodification, economic inequity, and labor rights.
The reappropriation and manipulation of materials used destabilize its power and play with the contradiction of mammy stereotypes. My materials include used baby and adult clothes, bedsheets, and diapers. A representational resistance to the power structure that is inherent to workers like my mother. This inclusion in my practice guides me along with conversations with various women who are working in such employment.