Perfection

Perfection was inspired by years of verbal abuse that I myself, my family, and my friends received over the years from our own communities, from society. I was told I was ugly. My nose was too big. My hair was nappy. I’d never be nothing. It was pretty painful, you know, and I didn't go through that abuse alone. I went through it with many Black children, many Black women, men. And, I felt like, you know, these people who were calling me this had no right to define my beauty. It took me a while, too, to really come to a place where I was comfortable letting people in, letting people see how I felt about these kinds of things. I wanted to paint--create--something that would debunk all the drama, all the bull, all that those people said about us. That’s why I chose to do these particular pieces on black canvas, so in a way I was taking back my power, you know what I mean? Like man, they took something from me so now I’m going to take it back, you know what I mean? But, I really had fun painting these, and I hope you enjoy them.