Fullness

MFA Thesis Exhibition

Fullness is an exhibition of mixed media paintings that explores a new visual expression of Black identity. The pandemic shut down created an opportunity to examine all the ways I was locked into thinking about identity. I was constantly engaged in social issues and events that intersect with Blackness and culture. Being in lockdown with just my family, gave me a minute to realize the unintended message of my work is that the Black experience is directly tied to struggle. By shifting away from battling with social forces I was able to focus on everyday experiences and interpersonal relationships. The works employ layers of color and abstracted shapes to represent the Black body not only in terms of ethnic identity but as a psychological state of being. Blackness is the way we relate to each other and the way we exist in the world. Fullness provides a new visual framework for Black life by envisioning how our world could hold Blackness as sacred and worthy without conditions.