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Acrylic on canvas board, gold foil, and paper [18 x 13cm each]

The Complexion Complex showcases the beauty in every skin tone, critiquing the unhealthy infatuation with skin tone that so deeply affects communities of colour. It reimagines black women as chocolate bars, with flavours based on their unique skin tones. This act of empowerment intends to counter the distaste many black women feel towards their own skin as a direct result of colourism.

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White, milk, and dark chocolate [2.5 x 5cm each]

An exploration of the way in which African culture is consumed in the Western world. These three chocolate sculptures are based on West African masks Asen, Okuyi, and Mwana Pwo. The physical consumption of these heads highlights the greed of white “explorers” who stole many African artefacts throughout the early 1900s

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Resin [5cm each]

Based on the phrase “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice”, this sculpture celebrates individuals with dark skin. As an installation, the berries are clustered together in a mass of hanging vines, as a reference to Billie Holiday's ‘Strange Fruit’ on which the piece is partially based.

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This sweet and playful piece celebrates afro hair in all its various textures. Candy Floss Fro seeks to empower the everyday black woman to see the beauty of her hair in its natural state, without the aid of relaxers, extensions, weaves or wigs. The texture and coarseness of the afro is not necessarily something that must be tamed.

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Black rice, resin, and fabric [244cm tall]

BLK RICE celebrates the millions of black women who have acted as vessels, including the elders in my life. Within them, they carry some phenomenal anecdotes, wisdoms and histories. Many of these are of their own discovery and creation, but several have been passed down through generations – often verbally – and live on through those to whom they have been imparted. These elders harbour innumerable elements of tradition and heritage by which younger generations may be enlightened and enriched. Through them, we have the opportunity to delve deeper into discoveries of who we are and where we come from. They are our link to our origins; living, breathing vessels of knowledge. And they are celebrated within this sculpture.

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Polymer clay, resin, and ceramic [25 x 25cm each approx.]

A critique of Western hypocrisy surrounding physical features stereotypically attributed to those of African descent. ‘Black’ features are often mocked when seen on black people, but celebrated on individuals who are not of African descent. The black female body is presented as somewhat of a spectacle here. Viewers are disturbingly compelled to walk over and tuck into a chocolatey breast, or pluck a milky eyelid from the bowl and devour it.

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Milk chocolate and marble [140 x 60cm]

This piece encourages individuals to reconsider skin conditions such as acne. I personally have struggled with acne and its aftermath of scarring from the age of 10. In essence, this is a self portrait in which a representation of my own chocolate brown skin has been poured onto a slab of marble as if it as about to be ‘tempered’. It is quite defiantly imperfect, covered in pockmarks and defects that ruin what should be a flawless, tempered surface.

Milk chocolate and marble [10 x 15cm each]

These bite-size versions of ‘Cystic Slab’ also encourage individuals to reconsider skin conditions such as acne. They too are defiantly imperfect, and are small enough to be packaged and sold.

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Polymer clay and ABS plastic [30 x 30 x 30cm]

Being born with eczema, some of my earliest and warmest memories involve my mother and grandmother soothing my skin with thick ointments such as cocoa butter. This piece is the physical manifestation of that experience. It is a celebration of the culture of kinship and sisterhood between black women. Specifically, it speaks to the intergenerational and familial connections between mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, and so on.

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Air dry clay, cotton, and PVC [185cm tall]

This one was a huge step for me in creating something meaningful and contemporary. I decided to scale up my original Candy Floss Fro lollipops (15cm) by 12 to create this quite ridiculous six foot tall sculpture. Interestingly, I had to reconsider all the materials I used, the means by which I wanted to display the piece as well as the space within which I wanted it to be displayed. Viewers can walk all the way around the piece, and take it in from all angles.

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A celebration of the regality within every black woman

A visual commentary on the entrapment mental illness can bring

Digital Painting

Timber and plexiglass [360 x 200 x 200cm]

"When she is told her skin is too dark; I do not hesitate to offer, that the sun loved her so much, it kissed her more than the rest of us.”

The Complexion Complex brand is designed to both acknowledge and counter the effects of colourism within the black community. Its products are referred to as items of ‘confectionary portraiture’, in which the each subject is reimagined in the form of candy – depending on their unique skin tone and physical attributes. The Complexion Complex presents black women as exotic objects of commerce, produced for white consumption in an act that mirrors the way slaves were stripped of their humanity and auctioned off to/by white slavers. While it is deeply empowering to present black people as deliciously flavoured bars of chocolate, this act also highlights the sexualisation and exotification of these same individuals. The brand seeks to present the plight of black women in particular with dignity and respect, simultaneously celebrating thier unique afro-centric beauty.

This little cutie is just one of many casting experiments that challenge definitions of blackness. What makes a person “black”? Are defining elements of blackness limited to complexion? To specific facial features? To a shared set of experiences? How do fixed perceptions of race limit us in our interactions with others?

A painted variation of my BLK Pearls sculptures. This work was showcased at the Smith and Partner Gallery in 2021 in the Graduate Showcase Exhibition.

A 3 meter mural that I painted in 2020 for the Sensory Room of a school with a Resourced Autism Provision. This mural - which glows in the dark - is an essential element of the experience created for the children in this room.

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Displayed at No 20 Arts ‘Around the Table’ Exhibition in 2021

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Food and the body meet once again in Edible Excavation, as sculpted faces appear beneath a sticky sweet surface of brown sugar. Inspired by the shared history of social, political, and spiritual systems found within diasporic groups, each artefact explores the ways in which culture has been preserved, exotified, commodified, and consumed.

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Food and the body meet once again in Edible Excavation, as sculpted faces appear beneath a sticky sweet surface of brown sugar. Inspired by the shared history of social, political, and spiritual systems found within diasporic groups, each artefact explores the ways in which culture has been preserved, exotified, commodified, and consumed.

Find out more

Food and the body meet once again in Edible Excavation, as sculpted faces appear beneath a sticky sweet surface of brown sugar. Inspired by the shared history of social, political, and spiritual systems found within diasporic groups, each artefact explores the ways in which culture has been preserved, exotified, commodified, and consumed.

This reprisal of my piece Edible Excavation was displayed at the Broadway Gallery in 2022 as a floor based installation that viewers could walk around.

A collection of three giant clams with extremely precious gems tucked inside, ready for harvest.

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The concept behind my larger piece of the same name was to celebrate the unique wisdom that is passed down between generations of black women. It sought to celebrate the millions of black women who have acted as vessels, including the elders in my life.

Within them, they carry some phenomenal anecdotes, knowledge and histories. Many of these are of their own discovery and creation, but several have been passed down through generations – often verbally – and live on through those to whom they have been imparted. These elders harbour innumerable elements of tradition and heritage by which younger generations may be enlightened and enriched. Through them, we have the opportunity to delve deeper into discoveries of who we are and where we come from. They are our link to our origins; living, breathing vessels of knowledge. And they are celebrated within each of these trinket bowls. Store your most precious and treasured trinkets within them for safekeeping.

PURCHASE HERE

https://shiverarts.com/products/vessels-sculptural-bowls?variant=39784638480578

The concept behind my larger piece of the same name was to celebrate the unique wisdom that is passed down between generations of black women. It sought to celebrate the millions of black women who have acted as vessels, including the elders in my life.

Within them, they carry some phenomenal anecdotes, knowledge and histories. Many of these are of their own discovery and creation, but several have been passed down through generations – often verbally – and live on through those to whom they have been imparted. These elders harbour innumerable elements of tradition and heritage by which younger generations may be enlightened and enriched. Through them, we have the opportunity to delve deeper into discoveries of who we are and where we come from. They are our link to our origins; living, breathing vessels of knowledge. And they are celebrated within each of these trinket bowls. Store your most precious and treasured trinkets within them for safekeeping.

PURCHASE HERE

https://shiverarts.com/products/vessels-sculptural-bowls?variant=39784638480578

The concept behind my larger piece of the same name was to celebrate the unique wisdom that is passed down between generations of black women. It sought to celebrate the millions of black women who have acted as vessels, including the elders in my life.

Within them, they carry some phenomenal anecdotes, knowledge and histories. Many of these are of their own discovery and creation, but several have been passed down through generations – often verbally – and live on through those to whom they have been imparted. These elders harbour innumerable elements of tradition and heritage by which younger generations may be enlightened and enriched. Through them, we have the opportunity to delve deeper into discoveries of who we are and where we come from. They are our link to our origins; living, breathing vessels of knowledge. And they are celebrated within each of these trinket bowls. Store your most precious and treasured trinkets within them for safekeeping.

PURCHASE HERE

https://shiverarts.com/products/vessels-sculptural-bowls?variant=39784638480578

These little cuties were casting experiments for a larger project that challenged the definition of blackness. What makes a person ‘Black’? Are defining elements of blackness limited to complexion? To a shared set of experiences? How do fixed perceptions of race limit us in our interaction of others, and even in our understanding of ourselves?

PURCHASE HERE

https://shiverarts.com/products/blk-features-sculptures?pr_prod_strat=use_description&pr_rec_id=cdc8d6e6b&pr_rec_pid=6657255997634&pr_ref_pid=6666193338562&pr_seq=uniform&variant=39769357779138

A piece from the Lucid Dreams in Black and White Collection. Sold via The Rafiki Gallery in 2021.

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“Money Nah Grow ’Pon Tree,” is a testament to the generational wealth of knowledge, wisdom, culture, and hope that was bestowed upon us by those who came before us. And it is a testament to that which we hope to bestow upon those who succeed us. The piece is heavily inspired by my grandparents and the entire Windrush generation, who came to Britain in search of a better quality of life for themselves and their families. They strove to give us more than they had, encouraged us to aim higher, and pushed us to achieve things that were undreamt of in generations past.

From the Lucid Dreams in Black and White collection. This was displayed at The Brick Lane Gallery in 2021.

From the Lucid Dreams in Black and White collection. This was displayed at The Brick Lane Gallery in 2021.

From the Lucid Dreams in Black and White collection. This was displayed at The Brick Lane Gallery in 2021.

A digital drawing created in the Procreate app on an iPad Pro. August 2023.

A digital drawing created in the Procreate app on an iPad Pro. August 2023.

A digital drawing created in the Procreate app on an iPad Pro. August 2023.

Piece 1/2 in a duo of digital drawings representative of the intergenerational wisdom that our mothers and grandmothers etc. impart upon us when plaiting our hair. The piece interrogates how the relationships between matriarchs and their female descendants are affected by the impending effects of aging. Being able to plait one’s own hair is a rite of passage for young black women and girls. For those who (with age) have lost a lot of their dexterity and independence, this ability is often lost. The role reversal that often takes place when a mother’s hair is now maintained by her daughter later in life is a very intimate and humbling thing to witness indeed.

Piece 2/2 in a duo of digital drawings representative of the intergenerational wisdom that our mothers and grandmothers etc. impart upon us when plaiting our hair. The piece interrogates how the relationships between matriarchs and their female descendants are affected by the impending effects of aging. Being able to plait one’s own hair is a rite of passage for young black women and girls. For those who (with age) have lost a lot of their dexterity and independence, this ability is often lost. The role reversal that often takes place when a mother’s hair is now maintained by her daughter later in life is a very intimate and humbling thing to witness indeed.

A digital drawing created in the Procreate app on an iPad Pro. August 2023.