i’m fine.
Acrylic Paint on Canvas 16” x 20” This self-portrait shows the internal dissonance between the need to be happy and fit a norm and expressing individuality. The bottom face is smiling with vacant eyes, and thread pulling up the side of my mouth to represent societal pressure to be happy. The face emerging from the top is my true authentic self that is trying to break free from the prison of conformity. The style of colorful splotches is common through my work and represents authentic expressions.
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Metamorphosis
Colored Pencils on Paper 18” x 18” My grandmother’s butterfly garden inspired this artwork and I set the most significant parts of her garden on an island surrounded by monarch butterflies. Her garden is an important pillar of my childhood that has shaped me into who I am, and just like monarchs, I have changed and grown. The open white background invites the viewer in, through the white gate, into the space of my head to see the other memories and experiences that have shaped me.
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Extra Sensitive
Colored pencils and Ink on Paper 20” x 18” Each object represents one of the five traditional senses and how they are used to make women conform to societal standards. Touch: the hair straightener tames the curly, unruly hair; taste: lipstick because women must wear makeup to be beautiful; smell: perfume for purity and freshness; sight: the script. feeding her lines; hearing: the bell earrings that rings with any of her sudden movements and, like a cat collar, rings to warn others of her outspokenness and “cattiness.”
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Eggy
Acrylic Paint on Paint Paper 9” x 12” Art can be used to express a meaningful message as much as it can be used for humor and laughter. In this piece I celebrate humor by painting one of my friends as an egg, playing off a pun of her name. I used acrylic paint to bring laughter with a realistic rendition of her face in the yolk of an egg. This piece reminds me that art can be about laughter and celebrate the pure essence of joy, rather than only spark inquisitive thought.
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The Kids Will Be Alright
Digital Painting on AutoDesk Sketchbook 1900 x 1300 pixels Kids are rarely constrained by societal expectations and traditional gender roles that limit the self expression of adults and teens. This digital art piece centers on two kids playing dress up while breaking the gender-binary roles with huge smiles, looking proud and having fun. This piece is a reminder that gender roles are taught, and if we stop teaching younger generations that our sex limits self-expression, we could have a world full of joy and playfulness.
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That Bitch
Acrylic Paint on Canvas 16” x 20” A common image through art is the naked, reclining woman, used to eroticize and exploit the female body and cement woman’s role as child-bearers and sex objects. I flipped this narrative and painted the empowered singer and body-positive activist, Lizzo, in a similar position, but holding reign over her body and expression. Colors dripping from her to symbolize her genuine self and individuality as she basks in them, accepting her authentic self.
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Try Me
Acrylic Paint on Canvas Board 16” x 20” This piece challenges the traditional notions of female beauty that is dominated by Eurocentric, white characteristics. Many Black women have been shamed for wearing their natural hair, so I featured this woman’s natural hair as a way to break these beauty constraints. The woman gazes at the viewer with a neutral expression, seemingly challenging the viewer to try and deny her beauty and her confidence. The colors represent her individuality, and her accepting her transformation into free self-expression.
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