Artist Statement

For too long, Black Joy and Black Beauty have been placed in the background by society as an ambient noise meant to be forgotten. We are often reminded of our plight and struggles to be seen as humans and nothing less. This body of work is a celebration of black beauty. My goal with these charcoal drawings is to highlight each figure's beauty and show a glimpse of the everyday struggle through facial expression, lighting, and titles.

Black Noise

Planted by a stream of water,
they never did what they utter,
lost cost is what they called us,
cursed by the sins of our fathers,
like Ham, dang, Noah left a damned generation.
But, imma celebrate my people,
carving their faces in your mind with precision sharper than a needle,
using color Dirt and charcoal because that’s how they see us.
I know Abba sees us,
getting shot on TV by 12 cause, they can’t rule us
From the slang to the way we hang our drip, yeah, they want to be us.
Durag, gold chain & hair scarf, call us thugs, detained before eighteen
Keep us in the system and maintained
below the poverty line and in a death loop. (gun shots)

Alpha Massaquoit (2023)      

 Press Release