AUGUST 2023
FIRST ART COLLECTION
“Against the Grain” celebration of a human's Identity and the journey to achieving one's dreams in life. The use of color and placing the subjects in unconventional environments is the hallmark of our work. You will notice that in some of the works there is a motif of masks worn by characters; this speaks on the desire of people to always wear a personality and not be themselves around other people.
Most importantly, the use of traditional concepts of beauty not only draws from our roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, but also from our experiences as young black men living in Cincinnati. Our vibrantly colored pieces of photographs, drawings and paintings often focus on the themes of societal, familial, and cultural expectations, and explore what it means to live a life that conforms to these structures. This first show includes pieces as large as life with the largest being 6 ft by 5 ft.
PAINT ON CANVAS
Acrylic paints and combination of sharpie markers and color pencils.
Human nature - Blinded by everything around us. Missing out on what is truly meant to be for us. What is supposed to bring us joy in life. If we could only stretch our hands and put in the effort to pluck what is in the tree, we could truly find the joy we are looking for.
“The butterfly effect” Butterflies in the painting represent a distraction. Missed opportunities. 6x5 ft
Scared to dream - Even the most beautiful dreams can turn into nightmares when we have to look at everything objectively. Sometimes it is okay to dream, and dream big. We need to turn our reality radars off at times. Society and our everyday responsibilities have made it very difficult for a lot of us to do so.
The use of vibrant colors and the glowing lily petals is meant to show the beauty of a dream. However, This could easily be suffocated and turn into a nightmare with complete darkness. When we allow situations in our everyday life to slowly dim those bright ideas. 5x4 ft
Lost in a dream - The end does not justify the means if you end up losing yourself in the process. We have a dream or goal in life. We achieve that goal but are not the same person by the time we get to our destination. On the journey to making these dreams a reality, we notice that we start to conform to society's expectations and lose our core values. Listening to voices that we shouldn’t be listening to. We end up feeling empty even when we achieve. 4x2 ft
Peace of mind - How easy it is for us to overlook the fact that the situations we are in at times are not as bad as we think they are compared to others. Something that could seem peaceful to others could be a storm to the person in that environment. Just because it looks like everybody agrees that you are in a better situation doesn't mean you have to be satisfied and agree with their judgment. 4x3 ft
SCRIBBLES PEN
A Combination of ball point pens, sharpie markers and colored markers.
Who am I - At what moment in our life can we say we have been fully vulnerable being so called ourselves, comfortable enough to take off the mask that we wear on a daily basis when we are around others. Is it even possible to recreate that atmosphere or environment where we can be free to do so? 5x4 ft
Afraid to fail - The laughing mask is a representation of our deepest fears. A depiction of someone laughing at something. Before we even set on a new course in life. To start something that is deemed out of the ordinary by many. We initially have this idea of people around us watching our every step and waiting to see us fail, so they can say “ I told you so”. 5x4 ft
Afraid to start - It’s only a matter of time until that fear starts to become visible in our actions and takes control of our every step. This makes us overly conscious. Looking over our shoulder to see if anyone is judging our progress. All the crawling figures sketched represent someone's thoughts vs reality. Scared to take the first crawl, mentally aware, emotionally starting but physically still. 5x4 ft
Comfort Zone - To thrive in life and reach the highest levels of success could mean different things for all of us. In order for one to be successful, do we always have to put ourselves in unfamiliar conditions. Leave everything behind; family, friends etc. Make our lives uncomfortable in order to achieve what it is we desire? Deprive ourselves of the things that bring joy and provide meaning to our lives. 5x4 ft
