Artist Profile

My work explores the complexities of identity, perception, and the power of the gaze. Through animation, sculpture, film, painting, and chalk pastels, I examine the tension between self-perception and how others see us—especially in the context of being "othered."

Growing up in a low-income neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side while coming from a particularly privileged family, identifying as queer, being African American, and having interests that others dismissed as "not Black enough" shaped my artistic inquiry. My studies in art history deepened this exploration, particularly in three key areas: the Eurocentrism of the art historical canon, the concept of the gaze and the distinction between nude and naked, and the agency of the subject in representation.

This inquiry began with a portrait series where subjects and outside observers each selected different compositions, revealing stark contrasts in color, age, and pose. My shift into animation expanded this exploration further, particularly through my character Tobias Kinte—a caricature informed by America's history of racial stereotypes. Inspired by Kunta Kinte/Toby from Roots, Tobias embodies the exaggerated features and reductive portrayals historically imposed on Black individuals. His presence across my drawings, sculptures, and animations critiques the distorted lens through which Black identity has been—and continues to be—viewed in American culture.

At its core, my work challenges the viewer to reflect on how history, media, and cultural narratives shape the way we see both ourselves and each other.