can't you see? it's time to let go (2025)
Plaster, rope, wood
9 x 5.5 x 8 in
My work embodies the shift from oppression to liberation, mirroring a Black liberatory relationship that should let go of systems that we hold onto and free ourselves. My hand tightly grasps the very material that restrains it, reflecting the attachment to oppressive systems that were built by abusing us—and continue to. The other hand removes the restraints, unlearning and letting go of the attachment to these violent systems. I invite viewers to reflect on their grip on dehumanizing systems, to recognize that revolutionary change requires what Audre Lorde describes as —removing the piece of the oppressor deeply embedded within ourselves.
WE WILL SAVE OURSELVES (2024)
Cardboard, plaster, rope, video installation
139 x 144 x 52 in
WE WILL SAVE OURSELVES is a powerful, multi-media act of resistance and solidarity. Deep black castings of my hands and tree branches are lowered from the ceiling alongside an array of cardboard protest signs from various activist movements. The suspension of my hands depends on the branches, mimicking our relationship with nature and our collective dependency on its preservation. Layered on the suspended cardboard signs, video projections immortalize the South River Forest in Atlanta, Georgia, which is currently threatened by the construction of a $100 million Cop City (also known as a "public safety" training facility). This development looms over a predominantly Black neighborhood, implicating the larger socio-political battle over land, community, and justice. Protest signs -made by community organizers and activists- don’t just hang from the ceiling but also adorn the walls. These signs do not merely decorate; they echo calls for land back, racial equality, and Stanford’s divestment from genocide, which symbolize the enduring and interconnected spirit of resistance. These signs reclaim Stanford gallery space and reflect the universal fight to return land and power from oppressive forces back to the people because, at the end of the day, WE WILL SAVE OURSELVES.
Passed Down (2023)
Plaster, newspaper
2 x 3 ft
Passed Down creates a direct conversation of my place in my family's stories. Castings of my hands delicately hold my grandfather's Black Panther Party newspapers from the 60s and 70s. I merge the past and present in this sculpture's exhibition; it's placed amongst my journal, my collage clippings and a newspaper documenting my own acts of advocacy like them.
foundations (2023)
Wood
15 x 9 x 4 in
foundations repurposed a 2x4 plank of wood to construct a pair of Black hands that are frozen in a laborious, foundational position. The 2x4 plank of wood plays a crucial role in building the foundation of most American buildings, but regardless of its name, the 2x4 is actually 1.5 inches x 3.5 inches to "cut costs." Echoing the same themes of labor and exploitation, this piece draws similarities in the history of the 2x4 and the past and present of labor exploitation of Black people.
can't help but hold on (2022)
Plaster, Acrylic, Polyurethane, Rope, Wood
42 inches x 18.5 inches x 9.25 inches
This piece symbolizes Black trauma as it gets passed down through generations. It is a manifestation of deep collective racial trauma that is born with us and we can't help but hold on as long as we live in this anti-Black world. For those who descended from enslaved people, the trauma ties together each generation, passing down the pain of our racialized experiences.
