The gestures they made I found interest in.  A saluting hand, a fist, a screaming head these things change in context.  The re-contextualizing of black body parts  Makes reference to still life, portraiture as well as repeated codes of hyper-masculinity and violence."

Fractures: An ongoing series of drawings
2014 - Present

In 2014 I was thinking about Emmitt Till, and the lack of empathy for the violence and brutality often endured by BIPOC. I was considering this in juxtaposition to the care and consideration taken for stolen artifacts that depict BIPOC.

I began rendering images of iconic BIPOC with the same scars, gouges, and fractures as you find in the statues. Drawing parallels in an effort of inspiring the same empathy and consideration to be applied to the viewing of human beings as we culturally do to the objects that bear their resemblance.

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Fractures is an ongoing series. The most recent iteration includes victims of police brutality and violence.

Fractures Series: 2014 works

Portraits of Criminals
2004

In 2004 I had been mulling over a range of ideas and feelings regarding racial profiling, representation the move of archives of information from hardcopy to digital.

For the Portrait of Criminals series, I wanted to engage people in the process of slow looking. I would draw out these images of black leaders and activist mugshots from these distorted internet images. 

I’d then erase their arrest placard and leave only their face visible from a distance. As you approach the work their arrest placard is revealed to you as well as their name which is displayed as they were in many arrest photos of Jim Crow era activists.

A Few Notes about the project:

In 2004 I had been mulling over a range of ideas and feelings regarding racial profiling, representation the move of archives of information from hardcopy to digital. For the Portrait of Criminals series, I wanted to engage people in the process of slow looking. I would draw out these images of black leaders and activist mugshots from these distorted internet images.  I’d then erase their arrest placard leaving only their face visible from a distance. As you approach the work their arrest placard is revealed to you as well as their name which is displayed as they were in many arrest photos of Jim Crow era activists.

Trophy Series
2012 - present

What is the Trophy Series about?

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There are certainly perceived and real social benefits for those fetishized by myths. However, do “Big Black Dick” narratives perpetuated by both Blacks and non-Blacks really speak to the humanity of Black individuals with penises? 

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The Trophy drawing series asks the viewer to consider the human beings the penises are attached to and not merely the exoticized temporal experience suggested by the mythology.

Some key points I wanted to consider: 

1) Historically, has the Trophy penis, the Mandingo male fantasy, or the Big Black Cock narrative in your mind served to humanize Black people with penises?

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2) Do these narratives truly express appreciation of the individual by way of complimenting a socially positive trait; or are they about power and who holds it?

A few references:

Broken Penises on Greek Stature

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1) The penises are drawn to match a series of Greek statues and are made to coincide with the angle or side that the penis (rested so to speak)

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2)  I was interested in a myth that the penis on Greek statues is missing because the Moor invasion of Greece led to statues built in their image and their natural endowments being destroyed to hide the fact that they were of men of color.

Exhibit at Jade Museum in San Jose, Costa Rica

1) Label info reads: Person wearing body adornments made of jade: ear spools, nose rings, necklaces, waistbands, and pendants, as well as tattoos

2) I was fascinated that the second image choose to remove the man's identity and leave only the jewels remaining as identifying markers of who he is.

Installation Images