" Tethered "

2023

This composition illustrates the connections between our deepest desires and the physical manifestation of temptation. The fruit serves as a new depiction of heartbreak. Rather than using the familiar cracked shape, I chose bullet holes to realistically embody the phenomenon we humans experience when learning to love and let go. My emphasized handprint is a desperate plea, mimicking the first paintings discovered in Afrakan caves, almost like a way of crying out to my Ancestors for help in our shared language. I wasn’t concerned with the violence often associated with red, because for me, it signifies comfort. I am red, and so are you. The fear and negativity perpetuated onto our most sacred color just doesn't sit right with me. 

The process of making this work was quite haphazard for me. I prayed over the canvas and began painting with no idea in mind. Before I fully understood it, Spirit told me it was finished. Imagine for a moment that everything is alive and exists with purpose. In a world like that, discovery, science, art, and misunderstanding all exist for reasons beyond comprehension. Life itself is purposeful. So is death. Everything happens for one reason or another. And sometimes it's not for us to understand or find out, it's just for us to experience. 

This painting emerged in one of my first chapters of reckoning. I had grown frustrated with my past, confused by how disconnected I felt from the truth, even when I held knowledge at my literal fingertips. Humans are emotional Spirits having a physical experience, and both deserve to be seen. This piece is about choosing to be yourself bravely, and to love what you love, however that shows up in the world. 

I think humans struggle with wanting things that feel good but might not necessarily be good. Deciding whether the temporary pain of growth is more valuable than the temporary satisfaction of evading it is the choice keeping you from your Highest Self. Letting the world understand that I do not have that figured out is a very honest moment for me. I am motivated to love the Woman that I am wholly as I grow, because I know how many people are suffering in silence for the sake of validation. 

I hope this draws people to visit the Bible verse this is based on, Matthew 6:21. Even if you are not a Bible reader, I encourage you to analyze it as you would any other excerpt from a historical text, in context.

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

Kind actions, community, peace, immense love, and justice seeking behaviors are the treasures of Heaven. My art pieces are my visions in the physical world, but my imagination is more palpable, more precious than the canvas itself. In the same way, your inherent worth as a Human Being comes from who you are, not from the things you claim as yours.