This is my original painting, "Little Red Riding Hood". It is oil paint on a wood-cradled canvas. The artwork is 24 inches (width) x 18 inches (height) x 0.5 inches (depth). Little Red Riding Hood Description: My work focuses on the manifestation of identity, particularly black identity. This identity always forms to show the consistently powerful presence of the black figure. I'm rewriting the narrative that western visual media has historically established by elevating black figures to the role of the protagonist. There is a definite negative social identity that is imposed upon black youth when the media negates the idea of the "black hero". These pieces break free from this imposed identity and explore new ranges. It's important to see the black protagonist, the black leader, the black achiever. I'm reimagining the woodcutter (the true hero of Little Red Riding Hood) as a contemporary black male. I'm reclaiming the image of a black male with a gun as a deviant criminal. He yearns to save the day, although the stereotypes imposed upon him put him in a compromising position to outsider viewers.

* ACCEPTED BY JURY FOR LIVE EVENT

This is my original painting, "Shelton Johnson Calls". It is oil paint on a wood-cradled canvas. The artwork is 24 inches (width) x 18 inches (height). Shelton Johnson Calls Description: This piece focuses on where the intersection between race and class has informed my and many of our collective childhoods. I often think about how overlapping adversities of being black and from a lower class makes areas of "play" inaccessible as a child. One recurring point of inaccessibilty coming from these intersections is the inaccessibilty of greenspace due to the mandated infrastructures of poor black neighborhoods. I want to acknowledge the inaccessibility of some children to a truly fruitful childhood. In these childhoods we can't remain blissfully unware of the impact of our adversities. Some elements from my past childhood may seem collaged in with my reimagined space, such as in "Shelton Johnson Calls". In instances such as this I like to imagine that these dual worlds are in the beginning stages of aligning, this early phase in the process may lead the scene to be less cohesive and lead to things such as distortion of scale. In this piece Shelton Johnson calls the children from these government regulated neighborhoods back into the natural world. His life's mission is to encourage black people to reconnect with the natural world. People of disadvantaged groups need to be invited into the space of imagining what a just world is so we can begin to craft it.

This is for a limited edition Silkscreen print of my painting "Our Lady". It is 8 x 10 inches from an edition of 24.

* ACCEPTED BY JURY FOR LIVE EVENT

This is my original painting, "Painting With Robert Duncanson ". It is oil paint on canvas paper. The artwork is 12 inches (width) x 8.5 inches (height). Painting With Robert Duncanson: My work focuses on where the intersection between race and class has informed my and many of our collective childhoods. As an African-American coming from a lower class, I'm specifically looking at the place where these intersections have led to deficits and examining how we have had to "make do" as children. This pieces focuses on the inaccessibility of imaginative play materials/ spaces due to fiscal deficits and the inaccessibility of the arts for these groups. I want to acknowledge the inaccessibility of some children to a truly fruitful childhood. In these childhoods we can't remain blissfully unware of the impact of our adversities. I overcome these deficits as I create a realm where I create a fantastical painting with one of the first black artists I was introduced to, Robert Duncanson. My paintings create this fantastical fruitfulness that gratifies my inner child but also often acknowledges the "making do" in the past and the unconventional charm these memories have. Although these adversities were present there is a nostalgic lens I look back on my childhood memories with that points towards resilience.

This is my original painting, "Peace With Martin". It is oil paint on a canvas paper . The artwork is 8 inches (width) x 12 inches (height).

This is a print of my painting, "Olympia's Maid Returns". It is printed on velvet paper. The artwork is 9 inches x 13 inches with an extra 1/2 inch white border around this size. Olympia's Maid Returns Description: This piece was a part of a series where I take well-known western paintings to recontextualize and repaint. I was looking at Olympia by Manet. For research, I read Olympia's maid by Lorraine O'Grady. I was heavily considering the notion of reclaiming black subjectivity in this piece. The submissive and invisible maid in "Olympia" by Manet is one of the seldom and most pervasive depictions of black women from pre-contemporary eras. The dichotomy of the representation of a black woman has been either a Jezebel or mammy type figure. In this recreation of Olympia', there is an inversion of the roles and the maid becomes Olympia. Although the traditional Olympia lounges nude, I had opted to have her clothed. I also opted to change the maid to a male because I think these paintings very much cater to the white male gaze. I've strayed away from the notion that Olympia's maid is one of the plethora of naked, lounging venuses that gratify the gaze of white male audiences. Instead she dominates the space, taking charge over those who diminish her.