Statement

As an artist I am interested in examining the nameless or hidden aspect of things in my drawings and sculpture. Themes in my artwork include identity and homelessness. My Canadian-European-African ancestry and experiences are at the root of my work on identity, which often address questions related to ideas about race. "How can I combat negative racial stereotyping?" is a question present in my mind when I am working, as well as: ”If the black/white binary didn't function together as a pair, how would it change my ideas about what being ‘black’ and ‘white’ means?” and “How have ideas about race and ethnicity evolved historically and how does this knowledge impact the way I define myself and other people in the 21st century?” My artwork is the space where I can explore these questions, while unraveling tensions that surface as a result of competing perceptions. The topic of homelessness forms the content of my representational drawings. Through my work I try to connect viewers to problems related to poverty and homelessness.
My process often involves layering materials like charcoal on paper in my abstract drawings, metal or recyclable items in my sculptures, or found objects in my assemblage. Layering acts as a metaphor for the self, or identity, in all of its complexity. The overall form of the artwork shows parts that can be seen or sensed. I use a highly representational approach in my realistic drawings. In my current series on the subject of homelessness, I work from photographs that I take of my subject(s) - with their permission. I try to incorporate something from my conversation with them into the completed drawing.