I grew up around faces of many shades.
WITH beliefs OF many CULTURES.
MY MOTHER IS A BUDDIST.
MY FATHERS are BOTH MUSLIM.
GRANDMOTHERS FROM ATLANTA
GRANDMOTHERS FROM MEXICO
GRANDMOTHERS FROM THE BAHAMAS.
texas
mississippi
new jersey
georgia.
college educated
high school dropouts.
cities
suburbs.
COUNTRYSIDE
—
my black experience has always been a bit of a melting pot.
constantly evolving.
challenging premature beliefs.
making room for constant change.
adding new combinations to my imagination.
TO OTHERS IT MAY SEEM OVERWHELMING
sitting in between so many interesections
TRYING TO FIND YOUR own
PERSPECTIVE
PLACE
OR PERSONALITY AMONGST THE CHAOS OF
OPINIONATED PEOPLE.
BUT i didn’t mind.
through the chaos
i learned to build imaginary worlds
to escape with any idle time.
ONLY EVEN IN MY IMAGINATIVE THOUGHTS
my normal is a blended world.
—
I GOT TO
taste tesT LIFE
through all the things my people
debated or enjoyed.
all the different lenses and perspectives.
RATHER THAN DESCRIBE MY BLACK EXPERIENCE,
IT FEELS BETTER TO SHOW MY BLACK EXISTENCe.
made from roses:
an ode to giving each and every one of those
highly opinionated people
their flowers.
as I am ONLY A PRODUCT OF
being present in the world around me,
because of
those BEFORE ME,
and all the gems they left behind.
introducing you to
the puppetmasters
of my creativity.
and THE FOUNDATION
THE SOIl
THE ROOTS OF Me.
meet THE FAMILY