As a result of my personal journey to embracing my natural hair texture and learning to cultivate a positive self-image, I started creating portraits which depict Black women in various hairstyles not typically shown in the main media. My intention is to counter the negative stereotypes about Black hair which are prevalent in our society. My hope is that, as they see their hair represented in beautiful and positive ways, these works will help build the confidence of young Black girls and women.
This series is about unity in diversity where we celebrate our differences and embrace our shared destinies. I use gems as a metaphor for people in this series. My intention is to highlight the fact that different is beautiful; not superior nor inferior. I like to create work about beauty because I believe beauty can be defined in different ways not the typically narrow ways society usually defines it. Beauty is as much of an inner work just as joy is.
This series of works is my response to living in a pandemic for 2 years. Surrounded by so much death, I started to reflect on human life. During this time, I also thought about my own mortality. What happened was, death made me consider life. In the grand scheme of things, life seemed so short. I pondered, I wondered, and I contemplated. Eventually, I concluded that death is defined by life. To die is to have lived. As a result, I decided to capture the fleeting moments of joy in everyday life.
