For my sustained investigation, I merged perspectives, past and present, to explore how our history influences our identities and informs how we see the world. I wanted to capture a moment in transformation, highlighting the growth of identity through the evolution of memory. My art reflects how my altered memories impacted my perception of myself and the world.

In this portfolio, I share my personal history through “My Self Portrait as an Adult,” reflecting on how my perception of growth has shifted and how the expectations of adulthood impact my identity. In my piece “Free at Last,” I depict the lingering impacts of racial history, the African American experience following the 13th Amendment, and how this oppressive history has become conflated with Black identity.

I hope that the pieces achieved a continual sense of transition and growth. I developed each piece with attention to the movement of light. Light and color served as tools to reveal the unseen conflict of memory through sensitive rendering and dramatic composition to transcendent imagery and whimsical depiction. I wanted to present each piece as a memory that is evolving, leading the viewer to reflect on their memories have changed throughout their lives and impacted the way they view themselves and the world around them.