About the Artist

In 2019, I was the only Black student in my Illustrator class— the only one depicting Black subjects. This didn’t bother me, but it made me question why I struggled to draw Black people without feeling a weight attached to it. I realized that I had internalized the notion that Black art had to center struggle, that our stories were only valid if rooted in pain.

For too long, Black women in media have been portrayed as either warriors or survivors, our existence tied to struggle or strength. While that is part of our story, it is not all of it. I depict Black women in moments of leisure, softness, and mundanity because our humanity should not be defined by resistance alone.

This philosophy extends beyond my art: it is how I move through life. I believe in presence without performance, depth without weight, and identity without imposition. My work is a deliberate shift in how Black women are seen— both externally and internally.

It is a statement that we deserve to simply be.