It is raw expression. I always felt a strong need to be heard and seen, and art was the way a quite kid from Jersey could shout the loudest.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
My current focus is on digital art. I’m drawn to technology and the flexibility it offers. I like testing the boundaries of what art is, and I value the ability to iterate quickly, scale a piece from a computer screen to a massive mural, and experiment without the constraints of physical space allows me to push my concepts much further than traditional methods alone. I am drawn to portraits and figurative works where I often insert myself into classical scenes in art and pop culture.
Where do you find inspiration?My inspiration comes from magazines, art, movies, music, and general pop culture. I feel an enigmatic pull towards correcting inadequacies in the positive depiction (or lack thereof) of Black people in media. My grandmother had a picture of a white Jesus on her wall for as long as I could remember, and the hypocrisy of learning that this blonde haired blue eyed man was not the one described in the Bible. I'm giving grandma an alternative to put on her wall. Better me than the other guy anyways.
What would you do with $25,000?I would use the funds to bridge the gap between my digital practice and physical studio work. Specifically, I want to invest in large-scale 3D printing to explore new boundaries in sculpture. This grant would also allow me to secure the studio space necessary to produce and store larger, gallery-ready physical pieces, moving my work from the screen into a more immersive, tangible environment.
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