More Than a Universe 

More Than a Universe is a visual depiction of the universe contained in the expression of joy and pain; beauty and resilience found in African Americans. This piece is a portrait of our ancestors in their healing form; the safe moment where we shed the armor and release the emotional weight. It’s a cleansing of the system and spirit; a centering. A moment of reflection, prayer, and communion where each tear holds a multitude of thoughts and feelings that spans time.

“But, god or not, the armor is all over them, and it is real. Or perhaps it is not armor at all. Perhaps it is life extension, a kind of loan allowing you to take the assaults heaped upon you now and pay down the debt later. “

“She did not cry. Composure was too important now.” – Ta-Nahesi Coates

Ta-Nahesi Coates, in his book “Between the World and Me”,  speaks of “the armor” we, as Black people in America, dawn daily to face the various attacks that come our way. He speaks of the investment parents place into their children. In talking to the mother of a slain classmate, he notes the mother’s poise; the pauses in her speech; the matter of fact delivery when answering questions about her slain son. While it was nothing new for many in the Black community, 2020 was a televised case study in the various attacks we face. From the murders of Breonna Taylor, to George Floyd, to Ahmaud Arbery, to protests, verdicts and so much more. We heard from mothers, brothers, children, and other loved ones of the murdered victims. It made me think of the investment in those lives lost. How do we encapsulate all of the variously lived psychological states we, as a country and a community, experienced? Those moments behind the armor – sometimes seen in public, yet more often behind the closed doors; among family, friend, and God – when we “pay down [those] debts”; when composure is not important. Those are the moments you will need more than a universe to carry you through.

Table of Contents 

Table of Contents continues a long established and evolving use of the literary and gaming element in my work. Tasked with the desire to include a multitude of ideas in one piece; combined with the happenstance of using a gridded sketchbook at the time when writing a stream-of-consciousness  list of concepts/subject matter the crossword puzzle as a new delivery vehicle was born .  The clues are then used as a means to direct the viewer toward a specific context for each word.  Creating the crossword puzzle, in my wooden, salvaged, antique aesthetic, immediately places the words in an elevated value status. In small clusters or isolated directionally, the words  create visual vignettes in the mind of the viewer.

For the Sake of Our Own 

The sister to crossword puzzles, the word search is the hide-and-go-seek of literary games. In this case I literally mean for “Our Own”, Black folks, to find these words and concepts in our everyday lives. As a chalkboard interactive, the viewer is tasked with taking chalk in hand and claiming the words for themselves.

While  designed to stylistically reference the late baroque period, the hand carver elements contain Khemetic spiritual systems – The wings of  Maat (harmony justice and truth ), and the scarab, or beetle, representing cycles of life, renewal and rebirth. “Reparations & Co.”, a fictional company I created to further drive my narratives, is engraved on the board like an old toy/game manufacturer; another signifier to remind us to get what is ours and what is owed.