Wood; paper mache'; copper leaf; resin; branch

graphite on paper mache'; 310 cast resin bees; wax; audio recording; steel chain, and tree branch

carved bass wood; resin; copper; cotton; red clay; hair; clothe; paint; stain; wax

carved bass wood; tar; salvaged wood flooring; paint; cotton sacks; raw cotton

Dimensions are variable.

Inspired by a passage from Isabel Wilkerson's extraordinary book The Warmth of Other Suns, this mixed media work speaks to the legacy of economic disenfranchisement inherited by the descendants of enslaved African Americans. The plane personifies an aspirational impulse for transcendence, but in the context of this work it is weighed down by a burden that impedes its ascension.  The oversized cotton sack is tethered to the tail section rendering the vehicle inert. The sculpture subverts the inference that the disproportionate representation of African Americans among the poor represents a predisposition towards poverty.  The reality is quite different. In a moving section of the book Wilkerson writes: "Multiplied over generations, it (slavery and Jim Crow) would mean a wealth deficit between the races that would require a miracle windfall or a near asceticism on the part of colored families if they were to have any chance of catching up or amassing anything of value."

This multi media performance was created to memorialize the slave market which once stood on the grounds of Five Points MARTA station in downtown Atlanta. The time lapse video of the station as it exists today is haunted by the ghostly registry of a photograph of the slave market which once occupied the space.

sand; cast resin ears; clam shells; video; audio recording.

Dimensions are variable.

Inspired by the Gullah Geechie communities of the Georgia sea islands, this mixed media installation is meant to honor the spirits of the millions of Africans who died in transport to the 'new world.'  The clam shells are fitted with cast resin ears which are placed on a bed of sand sourced from Sapelo island, home to an enduring Gullah community that maintains a culture closely linked to West Africa.  The time lapse video of the encroaching sea suggests the watery grave of the dead. The audio recording of the seashore sets a rhythmic meter as the voice of a young girl chanting an Islamic prayer can be heard over it.  The work affirms the history of Islam in America as nearly one third of Africans forced into slavery were Muslims. The first slave bought to Sapelo was a man named Bilal which literally translates to 'the first to believe in the Prophet.'

cast resin; clam shells; sand; video, and audio file.  

This multi media work was created in response to a trip to Sapelo and Ossabaw islands. The disembodied ears embedded within the clam shells references those lost to the sea during the Middle Passage; they are witnesses--spiritual repositories of meaning and memory.  The Islamic chant heard over the sound of the encroaching seashore references the thousands of Muslim slaves--roughly 1/3 of all slaves taken--who were forcibly removed from the African continent.

Silkscreen on wood panel; water fountain; spigot; segregation sign; forged steel; resin; stones; wood flooring

Dimensions are variable.

Conceived to honor the freedom riders whose non-violent protest was waged to integrate interstate busing, this sprawling installation is composed of a series of ten silk screened mugshot images of protesters arranged sequentially--each with a loaded slingshot facing them.  Atthe heart of the installation a dividing wall separates a porcelain drinking fountain from a spigot. Above, a vintage segregation sign designates white and colored only. Clusters of stones rest on the floor beneath the photographs suggesting the blows endured to actualize a higher ideal. The work is augmentedby a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; "unearned suffering is redemptive."

silkscreen on wood panel; resin; steel; stones; drinking fountain; spigot; segregation sign

Dimensions are variable

Conceived to honor the freedom riders whose non-violent protest was waged to integrate interstate busing, this sprawling installation is composed of a series of ten silk screened mugshot images of protesters arranged sequentially--each with a loaded slingshot facing them.  Atthe heart of the installation a dividing wall separates a porcelain drinking fountain from a spigot. Above, a vintage segregation sign designates white and colored only. Clusters of stones rest on the floor beneath the photographs suggesting the blows endured to actualize a higher ideal. The work is augmentedby a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; "unearned suffering is redemptive."

steel; resin; wood; stones; sling shots; silkscreen on wood panel; drinking fountain; spigot; segregation sign

Dimensions are variable.

Conceived to honor the freedom riders whose non-violent protest was waged to integrate interstate busing, this sprawling installation is composed of a series of ten silk screened mugshot images of protesters arranged sequentially--each with a loaded slingshot facing them.  Atthe heart of the installation a dividing wall separates a porcelain drinking fountain from a spigot. Above, a vintage segregation sign designates white and colored only. Clusters of stones rest on the floor beneath the photographs suggesting the blows endured to actualize a higher ideal. The work is augmentedby a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; "unearned suffering is redemptive."

Conceived to honor the freedom riders whose non-violent protest was waged to integrate interstate busing, this sprawling installation is composed of a series of ten silk screened mugshot images of protesters arranged sequentially--each with a loaded slingshot facing them.  Atthe heart of the installation a dividing wall separates a porcelain drinking fountain from a spigot. Above, a vintage segregation sign designates white and colored only. Clusters of stones rest on the floor beneath the photographs suggesting the blows endured to actualize a higher ideal. The work is augmentedby a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; "unearned suffering is redemptive."

Conceived to honor the freedom riders whose non-violent protest was waged to integrate interstate busing, this sprawling installation is composed of a series of ten silk screened mugshot images of protesters arranged sequentially--each with a loaded slingshot facing them.  Atthe heart of the installation a dividing wall separates a porcelain drinking fountain from a spigot. Above, a vintage segregation sign designates white and colored only. Clusters of stones rest on the floor beneath the photographs suggesting the blows endured to actualize a higher ideal. The work is augmentedby a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; "unearned suffering is redemptive."

Mugshot image of a Mississippi freedom rider.

Mugshot image of Mississippi freedom rider.

Mugshot image of Mississippi freedom rider.

Mugshot image of Mississippi freedom rider.

pen and ink on paper; vintage typewriters; and wooden shelves.

Dimensions are variable.

Ink on paper, typew

pen and ink on paper; vintage typewriter

graphite on wood panel; sardine cans; photo transfer; paint

Graphite on wood panel and tin

resin; hair, and steel anchor

Root/Anchor makes allusions to the enduring strength of lineage and ancestral connections.  The anchor is a stabilizing force while the nautical rope--made of dread locks--symbolically links one generation to the next.  The child's foot is bound to that connection indicating the cohesive bonds to family and community.

forged steel; resin; pillow; rope; paint, and wax

cast resin; charred rope; pillow; pigment

This performance was produced for the Savannah College of Art and Design to celebrate the city of Savannah's historic sit-in movement. Art direction and installation produced by Masud Olufani in conjunction with SCAD.  The portrait images are of Ernest Robinson; Carolyn Quillion, and Joan Tyson--the first students to be jailed at the protest at Levy's Department store in 1960.

Collaboration with Davion Alston

Collaboration with Davion Alston

wood; tin; silkscreen on wood; saw; sawdust;.

Dimensions are variable.

The work references the dissolution of the family unit. The tree saw requires two people to operate it indicating the participatory involvement of both parties in the breakdown of family stability.  The ghostly registry of the child's eyes bears witness to the destructive forces he/she cannot stave off. The child is the helpless observer; the passive spectator; a casualty of events and circumstances beyond his control.

graphite and photo transfer on wood panel, steel chain; 16"x17"x5"

The past confronts the future in this small mixed media work. The slave meets his future self--the image bisected by a space ship with a schematic rendering of the Brookes slave ship at its core.

graphite on wood panel, fabric, skeleton key, hinge, paint; 9"x15"x5"

tree branch, carved bass wood, screw, graphite on dyed paper, graphite on wood panel; 11"x21"6"

woven dread locks, carved bass wood, wax, stain, paint, shears; dimensions are variable

woven dreadlocks, shears

carved bass wood, forged steel, radio flyer, pillow, cotton, rust, stain, wax; 12"x40"x14"

wood, steel, red clay, hair, cloth, cotton, rope, paint, tobacco, silk screen on wood panel, ladder; 48"x94"x6"

cast bronze and hair.

wood, forged steel, resin, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar, bible, stain, paint; dimensions are variable.

This work was created with the idea of crafting an amplifying device for a small child. The witness stand is scaled to the average height of a seven year old child. The choice to paint the megaphone red was in response to common color schemes of children's toys. The feet are cast in resin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar--as the nursery rhyme indicates that children are made of "sugar and spice and everything nice." 

horn, suitcase, silk screen on fabric; 26"x48"5"

Forged steel; wood; cloth; rust; silkscreen on fabric; dye; cotton; tobacco; coffee grounds; each figure is approximately 72" tall.

wood; silk screen on fabric; red clay; coffee grounds; sugar; cotton; coal; sea salt; nails; rope; paint, and resin