What allows something to be deemed Monumental and what allows something to be dismissed?
Leave it Under the table
From 2020 my work took a change, as I digested the climate around me. From media captured during peaceful protest turned awry, to intimate relationships uncovered with hidden intention. It became hard for me to ignore the many facets race plays a role in my mundane life. Whether recognized or not, race is the pungent microcosm of our greater society. Under the Table is an assemblage of experiences i had lived testament to. Footage from a few protests I had attended in 2020 but never showcased. After the murder of George Floyd, I couldnt ignore the issues of this country any longer. Seeing first hand how media can control narrative and our responsibility to approach it with consciousness. I layered it with two different dance improvisation I had developed around a prop I had created: one being the subtle assumption of Black bodies as commodities. This piece expresses my destabilizing for the lived experience of racism embedded in portrayal and stereotypes infecting this country, as a Black woman in white spaces. The first one developed from a blanket and underwear, taking a feminist approach to sexuality. The other being about where we place anger.
B roll
In many cultural and social spaces, its considered taboo for women to express anger. It is often seen as inappropriate or contrary to the expectations of femininity. We're conditioned to preserve harmony at the expense of our own discomfort, taught to suppress disruption in favor of composure. Having grown up with a spiritual lens, I often encountered the narrative that we must remain calm and centered at all times. But anger, like any other emotion, is a natural component of life. It symbolizes displeasure for circumstances and highlights an opportunity for change It is not just reaction it is a story.
I’ve come to view anger as a necessary component—one that carries the potential for action and transformation. It’s not necessarily something to fear or bury, but a tool to better shape and understand ourselves.
For this piece, I created a table filled with glass jars, each containing a sealing solution. When a jar is shattered, the solution reacts—solidifying and preserving the broken pieces. Over time, the shards become a kind of stained glass window: a fractured but beautiful lens through which to redefine the power anger can harbor.
In a world marked by escalating conflict and emotional suppression, we must find new ways to listen and share. to hold space for hurt in service to ourselves and to each other—with more intention and more care.
This piece is a visual embodiment of suppressed anger: what it feels like when a voice is silenced but the emotion lingers, waiting to be seen, heard, and honored.