2026 2026 Juried Exhibition, Rawls Museum Arts, Courtland, VA Upcoming Events

I have been working toward humanistic, sculptural images that reference African dress and decoration. In particular, I draw on the rich textile traditions of the Yoruba and Ashanti peoples, as well as the intricate adornment of Maasai beadwork and West African masquerades. I see myself as an artist committed to freedom, discovery, and dialogue. My collage and assemblage works bridge brittleness and fluidity, meditative quiet and raw intensity. I draw inspiration from African imagery and spiritual traditions—such as Ifa divination practices and the visual symbolism of Adinkra—seeking to open conversations about culture, history, and power. My mission is clear: to create works that resonate with intellectual, physical, and spiritual meaning while remaining true to my resilience, optimism, and joy. Above all, I treasure the good memories and affirmations that continue to fuel my journey.

My visual language lives between organic and architectural forms: a montage of fragments that move lyrically, carry emotion, and weave together subliminal messages. My collages record my feelings, dreams, places, and things that I love and remember. I wish to build a bridge between traditions that have been lost. The materials I choose are deeply meaningful to my process: for example, vegetable papyrus and flowers connect me to the natural world and ancestral traditions, while metals such as brass, copper, aluminum, gold, and silver leaf recall both adornment and resilience in African cultures. I choose these components for their physical qualities and symbolic power, expressing transformation, memory, and vitality. My interpretation of the use of materials, achieved through color, texture, and scale, is often subtle and varied. Drawing on these diverse elements, my work seeks to transmute materials that reflect the polarities of struggle and transcendence.

What is it to be a color? Abstract shapes and forms combine with richness through saturated colors and diversity through textures. Lush colors agitate our senses and engage our emotions, overwhelming us with their delirium and evoking a sense of mystery. My approach to color theory is intuitive, guided by the symbolism and emotions each hue conveys. In my pieces, I often pair bold reds and deep blues to create dynamic tensions or harmony. I use gold and metallic tones to suggest sacredness and continuity, referencing ancestral legacies. Color for me is not simply decorative but carries vibrational weight within the composition, marking pivotal points in the narrative. Color marks our lives and social existence. We are born into color, pink for girls and blue for boys. We use colors to divide our neighborhoods, as well as to stand in solidarity or to unite a community in times of tragedy. There are also the stories that emerge from these environments: stories about identity, love, compassion, anger, sensitivity, and being human.

I offer the viewer a place where energy and matter are indistinguishable, with explosions of saturated energy overpowering the rigid stability of a rectangular space, establishing bold, shifting perspectives. I use strong colors to play with the drama; slightly off-center, these recognizable objects, so simple in line and edge, can hold such a stable tension. My collage paintings converge with the human spirit, the emotional agitation and sensitivity, and the music. My art has always been about physical form, gritty textures, vibrant, bold colors that speak to us with compassion and love. In the presence of my work, I hope viewers feel drawn into a space that invites both reflection and curiosity, encouraging a sense of discovery as they move around and engage with the layering of materials and forms. I intend for the experience to be immersive, provoking thought and emotion, while creating openings for personal interpretation and dialogue. It is my wish that viewers leave with a sense of connection—to themselves, to each other, and to the broader stories embedded in each piece.

My goal as an artist is to discover the nature of a process and then introduce my unique interpretation through works that resonate with others in intellectual, physical, or spiritual spaces. My creative process begins with a spark of inspiration—often drawn from personal memories, cultural research, or discovered material. I gather visual references, sketch ideas, and explore potential compositions through intuitive experimentation. Next, I select my materials, letting their textures and colors guide the direction of the work. I layer and construct forms, assembling elements through collage, cutting, arranging, and reworking until the piece begins to reveal its own internal logic. It’s the collaboration with a second object that creates weights and counterweights, opening up new directions. The materials are of a diverse nature; they are the surfaces as well as the depths of renderings: forms, lines, and shapes. I continually step back to reflect on the relationships within the composition, making adjustments and additions until the work reaches a balance between intention and spontaneity. Finally, I consider the emotional and conceptual resonance before declaring the piece complete.y.