This exhibition features large acrylic paintings that illustrate phrases and sayings rooted in a racially hierarchical society. Some of these sayings and phrases are commonplace, such as ‘cotton-pickin minute’ and ‘strange fruit.’ Others are not so common, such as ‘Sundown Town’ and ‘cake-walk.’

"The work explores the layered realities of race, identity, and perception through large-scale acrylic self-portraits in which the subject is always masked. These masks are not meant to conceal, but to reveal: they represent the complex personas we adopt to navigate systems of power, expectation, and survival. Each portrait questions how identity is constructed—by ourselves, by others, and by the culture we live in.

By working at a monumental scale, I reclaim physical and psychological space. My presence, even when veiled, demands to be seen, not just looked at. These portraits are not about hiding, but about complexity—about the identities we carry, the ones imposed upon us, and the ones we’re still discovering.

Through this series, I invite viewers to sit with discomfort, ambiguity, and contradiction. The work asks: Who do we become when we are seen only through masks? And what truths emerge when we choose to wear them on our own terms?"