Artist Statement
My Complexion
My portraits are a reflection of how I see my skin color. As a child, I was upset, embarrassed, and hated my brown skin tone. My family, the people I love and adore most, is of light skin, and I grew up mad at myself because I’m the dark one. The portraits tell my story: a story of how I imagined, dreamed, and fantasized myself with light skin; and how I overcame seeing my skin and myself as ugly.
We live in a culture and society that believes dark skin is ugly, and this ideology affects countless women and men of African descent. I need to show the world that all shades of dark skin, all shades of brown skin, and all shades of light skin are beautiful. My work is about empowering and glorifying every person of African descent around the world.
My portraits are realistic, and they use all of the formal elements of painting with an emphasis on color, line, and shape. I want my viewers to see, understand, and feel the beauty of Black people through me.