uic bfa class of 2020

                                  Spaces of Chicago & Milwaukee 

                    

 

My work consists of creating spaces and being aware of spaces that I have been to and that I haven't. When I create these spaces I think of my hometown which is Milwaukee, Wisconsin and my current living area in Chicago, IL. I make these spaces through paintings of watercolor and embroidery. I have been using and experimenting with cloth in my work as well.

 

I have learned a lot about these spaces from growing up in these environments and my daily interaction with them. For example my interaction when I am in Chicago on the 8 bus I know if I am going northbound I know I will not see many people that look like me versus if I am going southbound on the 8 bus. In creating these spaces I have been mapping out my daily routine with both of these cities. Creating these spaces I execute them while thinking of my life as an African American person and how I am feeling in each environment and how that environment makes me feel. In my work I create maps of the two cities I have lived in. I show the current demographic of the two cities showing how the African American race is more skim in some places than others. I first embroider the outline of each city then I paint onto the surface of fabric showing the African American population. I then add the routes that I take with embroidery. In additional to the maps, I included a journal piece to describe each route that I take and how I interact in each place. 

 

When you define identity you think of place, community and race. In these maps I am showing myself and how I define myself within them. I represent myself as an African American woman and artist. Many spaces that I am in African Americans are not represented and if they are it is only a few of them. This problem is in art world as well. I believe that museums and galleries need to represent African Americans as much as any other race. As an artist I am giving my perspective of being African American in spaces and how others may relate to feelings that I feel In the same environments.