I rebuild culture from fragments, layering memory, music, and imagery into work that feels chaotic, intentional, and alive.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
I’m compelled to create layered, mixed-media work, combining original illustration, line art, and acrylic with hand-cut fragments of vintage imagery. Through curating and juxtaposing cultural icons, I bridge generations using visual storytelling that carries music, film, memory, and moments in time forward. Incorporating organic, found, and tactile elements, and often finished with resin, each piece becomes a time capsule of meaning, honoring influence, legacy, and the stories that shaped us.
Where do you find inspiration?My work is shaped by artists like Chagall, Basquiat, and Jim Morrison, voices that reshaped culture, often before the world caught up to them. I’m drawn to how their work endures across generations, and it pushes me to keep evolving. Through dense layering, I build pieces that hold attention, revealing more with each pass. That process translates past voices into present experience, keeping their energy, influence, and meaning alive for new audiences.
What would you do with $25,000?I would use it to take a body of work I’ve spent decades building and put it into the world without hesitation. I’ve reached a point where my layered approach and creative system feel true to me. The funding would allow me to scale the work, expand into larger pieces, and bring it into galleries and to new audiences. It would help me become more of what I already am.
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