For Us, By Us

These works were created to capture the essence of Blackness within the Black American oral tradition of storytelling.

This is not activism. This is artistry.

My current practice is centered on participating in the Black American oral tradition of storytelling while simultaneously purveying gatekeeping.

Gatekeeping is the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to

something.

The concept of FUBU, an acronym for the phrase “For Us, By Us” encapsulates the pictorial precedence within my figurative narrations, narrations that emphasize Black agency. By placing Black agency as the forefront of these narratives, the intricacies and complexities of the Black oral tradition remain undiluted to the culture yet elusive to outliers. Walking the line of representation without exploitation allows the non-Black gaze viewership without ownership.

I ponder the ideology that as a Black artist, it is my responsibility to be inclusive. To figuratively leave the back door open, for the non-Black gaze to be able to serve as a functioning component of the work.
I reject that notion.

These are our stories.