B&W Photography
Stretch Mark Series
This series titled Stretch Mark and it is a continuation of a project that I worked on during my Florissant Valley days! In the beginning, I explored the dualities of motherhood and desirability and how insecurities about my own body began to develop because of irreversible changes it had undergone during and after pregnancy. The series presented a silent critique of my own body where I began to ask myself: why? Why were my new stretch marks causing me to question my own ideals of feminine beauty? How does my desirability play a part in my sensuality? The goal of This series is to promote body positivity amongst black women and to let the world know that black women are gorgeous! No matter the shape, "flaw", or roll of extra stubborn stomach that refuses to move. It does not matter if you are in transition from small to big, from thicker to slim, or just happy to be exactly where you are, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! And I wanted to capture that. I wanted this series to be confrontational, and boldly displayed with vivid details to emit the confidence and fearlessness of each woman. It is not easy exposing what others have deemed “ugly” and “Unattractive” to the world. Each model that was used in this series are women that I know personally and were excited about the project. However, Before I began each shoot, I shared my personal story and made an even deeper connection with each of them. By utilizing black and white photography for this series the focus shifts away from the “blackness” of the subjects. However, black and white photography highlights the form of scars and beauty marks that cover the surfaces of their melanin skin. Each image is printed larger supports the purpose of this series. The larger scale not only promotes body positivity amongst black women but critiques the beauty standards dominant within western cultures as well. I wanted to critique the very establishments and snapback culture that tells us that the natural occurrence of the ever-changing and expanding female body is a problem! Analog and digital methods are both used in the series. The analog, images were scanned and cleaned with photoshop using the spot healing tool. To push the contrast of the images and textures that are on the surfaces of the skin, I used the dodge tool, a mask, and created a curve that is unique to each image and pushes the look of the stretch marks and blemishes further. In my final prints I used QTR to make the mid-tones, warm, the shadows neutral, and the highlights sepia. These processes bring an overall warmth to the images and help to bring life to the flesh that I am capturing.
Propaganda and Decorative Art Printmaking
In the midst of an uproar, Black lives Matter has become a recurring mantra that has been used, abused, and misinterpreted. With the death and the non-guilty ruling of Breonna Taylor’s murderer, as a black woman, I cannot help but to feel that black women’s voice and autonomy is continuously treated as insignificant. I used the Black Lives Matter mantra and changed it into a mantra and hashtag that promotes the importance of the black woman. Incorporating the vulva also ties in with my previous and current art projects as well. I have always used the female body to promote our strength, beauty, and versatility. Now, I would like to focus solely on the black female body and advocate for the justice that we demand.
Pussy Is Beautiful (Printmaking)
Westernized beauty of Vulvas = Small, smooth, hairless, hidden, pale, pink, and blemish free.
Where exactly can you find vulvas that fall perfectly into this category? If the question did not come to you quick enough, its probably because you didn’t watch enough dirty movies when you were a pubescent child trying to figure out “what do boys like?” This is what I call Porn pussy.
Filtered down and curated specifically for male enjoyment.
Porn pussy is NOT my truth nor the reality of the situation!
Historically, there have been many women who have made work to combat porn, critique the male gaze, and shifted outside first wave feminism. They used the vulva as a signature of power and advocated for women who used their bodies unapologetically. I used the tactics that many of these movements utilized. Artwork that inspired this projects were Hannah Wilke’s Labial works, and Eva Hesse Although the works of Eva Hess and Hanna Wilke were sculpture, I created layers to my calligraph to create depth and to create an illusion of an object that could be viewed in 3D.
A lot of women have wrinkled labia minora that hang past their labia majora, changes colors when stimulated from passion or childbirth, and let us not forget a razor pump or two!
I elaborate on the technical qualities of calligraphy and incorporate real vulvas. I want to Also use “Pussy”, a very vulgar and overly sexualized word used to degrade and emasculate men, for empowerment because Pussy is power! Brown pussy is pretty, and long labia lips are Gorgeous! and I want this project to show that narrative. Seven prints crated with different vulvas hairy ones, long labia minors, and bumpy ones. I would like to use three renderings of the differently shaped vulvas with labia minors that are long and wrinkly hairy and still absolutely beautiful.
