Artist's Statement
My work is multidisciplinary and folkloric in nature. As an artist, I have been shaped by both an academic background (formal art institutions / on stage) and community-based performance (in the public / on the ground). I often create collaboratively with other artists, musicians and performers. Some of my projects are traditional and intimate, while others are more contemporary, technological or performative.
Storytelling is the foundation of my practice — not just my own stories but human stories in general. In particular, I am interested in relationships between humans and the natural world. Sometimes nature is represented in an image by its conspicuous absence. In other cases, plants and natural elements are protagonists or carriers of human stories.
I reframe the everyday: found materials, common technologies, domestic techniques and community events. I am thinking about rituals, parades, celebrations of the seasons. My approach and aesthetic reflect the influences of my personal story: I lived for most of my adult life in multicultural environments, and have lived in varied geographic zones, each with its own cultural history. For a decade in Brooklyn and a decade in Miami, I studied and extensively performed Caribbean folkloric dancer while maintaining an artistic practice that has taken many forms. I have also moved towards the materials and techniques of my Midwestern roots – my father's family came from dustbowl Oklahoma where sewing and quilting were both a practical skill and art form. Now, living in North Carolina since 2020, I bring all of these stories with me. As my work continually evolves, I return always to stories about basic experiences: time, nature, change, transformation.