There are no rules to art,
and there are no rules to self-expression,
and when it comes to something like what we were doing with the rules
were make something impactful.
I'm a Seattle based artist.
I've been here for about 15 years
working in mixed media.
When I say mixed media I really mean like everything from digital to analog.
Sometimes I'll create a digital piece print it out, rework it again,
and then do a lot of analog stuff to it.
I'm from the South, was born and raised in North Carolina.
Just was always in the everything.
Got my first camera and was 13.
If I had any money had always been art supplies.
It was always like art, art, art.
When I saw Cy Twombly's work for the very first time,
it reminded me of
being a child and I just locked in to that,
and it's always been a part of me.
Like, there's always the child inside
that's just experimenting and trying, whatever.
When I discovered Basquiat that was, like, earth-shattering.
That was really instructional.
So, what we
have here is a number of items from my grandfather's archive.
Most importantly, documenting his history with the U.S. Marines.
He was one of the first black Marines, and I can only imagine
what that would be like to be the first
to be admitted into the Marine Corps.
That's my grandfather there.
That's my daughter.
It's just a reflection of my practice of drawing
strength, and drawing inspiration from my ancestors.
You know, a few years ago, I was very sick. I was hospitalized,
and my family was what really powered me through.
They've been hugely instrumental and influential
on my work.
So, after I got out of the hospital as part of my recovery,
really took to drawing a lot, and through that sort of healing process,
I developed a style of continuous
line and movement that really started kind of mapping my mind,
and mapping my brain, and like my emotions and feelings.
I work in abstraction because it's intuitive, and it's coming
directly from me.
Everyone enters it from their point of view because it's
abstract, and then they bring their culture to it.
Part of my artist
statement is all about how I've turned to the diasporas of the world.
When I felt like white culture was done with me.
A big life changing event was the Black Lives Matter
mural that we painted in protest during the CHOP.
That changed everything.
It was a lot of strangers who came together to make a statement.
Everyone had their letter and did their own design.
There was no like, Oh, it's going to be like this or that.
None of that.
It was straight up like black and indigenous people
let's go.
Black Lives Matter is just another iteration
of black folks standing up for their rights.
It's part of the whole history of us trying to get acknowledgment,
trying to get not even acceptance, just acknowledgment that we're people,
we're no longer chattel.
We weren't in the first place.
I always say perfection is in the practice.
That's what I'm most proud of, is that I am a practicing artist.
It flows into me and out of me.
I follow my intuition.
I honor my ancestors,
and I feel that's the accomplishment.