When I first posted this work, unlike usual, I didn't post a caption with it because I was so distraught. This is a Black reimagining of Whistler's Mother, one of the most famous portraits of a woman. My father's family is from Lowell, MA, home to the Whistler House. Although I admire Whistler's technique, I never liked the rather monochrome painting or his mother's bland expression. So I blackified it: vibrant colors over the monochrome, a fierce "the time is now" expression and hand gesture, and a little tribute to Malcolm X in the wall art. (Read his...

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Girl with a Gold Earring: another black reimagining of classic portraits of women. Africa is rich in natural resources, precious metals and jewels, yet through colonialism and its aftermath, the continent has been looted and the majority of Africans don’t benefit from the richness of the land: https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/18/africa/looting-machine-tom-burgis-africa/index.html The hoops are based off a pair of my beloved “power hoops” - one of my fave YouTube channels #ProfessionalBlackGirl by Dr. Yaba Blay has some great episodes that talk about the power of hoops and embracing your blackness. ...

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The Monae Lisa: What started as a way to calm me down after these gut-wrenching, emotional, hopeful and crushing days is becoming a series about replacing our history—in these paintings, through appropriation, as our culture has been appropriated. Though more in the vein of alternate reality a la N.K. Jemisin, the title is inspired by Janelle Moane and her radically imaginative Afrofuturism (and I love her for big-upping our non-binary siblings). Also, a big thanks to BUST Magazine for featuring women’s art on your back page and to Essence Magazine for your winter issue with Regina King about black women in the art world - both are...

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After George Floyd's death I was paralyzed. Not because police brutality against black and brown people is rare, but because all of a sudden, it wasn't: it was on every news notification, website ad, everywhere. And I am glad for this moment when people are listening, because to communities of color, experiencing racism is nothing new, it's every day. Having to think about taking your phone out in a store, the professor who priases the white girl for saying what you just said, the subtle sign people give that they think you are LESS THAN. The not so...

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