Stations of Black Loss

An autoethnographic, interdisciplinary body of work that chronicles my journey of learning to love and embrace Blackness.

During my time as NCCAkron’s Community Commissioning Residency Artist in 2022, I began developing Stations of Black Loss, a deeply personal body of work intended to examine my relationship with Black identity, from the internalized anti-Blackness I held as a child to the celebration of Blackness that I now cultivate as an adult. Utilizing autoethnographic research/creative methods, the works comment upon Blackness as well as its intersections with Southern-ness, girl-/womanhood, religion, and the millennial generation as I’ve experienced them throughout my life. The title Stations of Black Loss is inspired by the Catholic devotion Stations of the Cross, as many of the anti-Black memories that inspired the series’ development took place in the Catholic schools I attended during my upbringing in South Louisiana. By its completion, Stations of Black Loss will contain fourteen works in total that I intend to present in a gallery setting over the span of forty days.

The Stations

I’ll Never Be Beyoncé

Juxtaposing Beyoncé's pro-Black lyrics with stories of my anti-Black adolescence, "I'll Never Be Beyoncé" uses monologue and movement to both process my childhood memories of insecurity and self-hatred and celebrate the confidence and self-love I now feel as an adult.

It’s Still Mine

A meditation on the commentary Black women receive about their extensions.

yESteRDaZe*

A playful tribute to my happy memories of playgrounds, church fairs, slumber parties, and middle school dances. A cast of dancers joins me in recalling these embodied memories of my girlhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Several audience members are invited to sit on stage, immersing themselves in the energy and chaos of my adolescent realms.

Curls, Coils, and Kinks

Healing my inner child with the Black Hair Coloring Book.

Thank You, Chakaia

First created for Utah Museum of Fine Arts’ exhibit, Black Refractions: Highlights from the Studio Museum in Harlem, this audio recording-turned-performance piece about Black hair is inspired by Chakaia Booker’s sculpture Repugnant Rapunzel: Let Down Your Hair.

currently untitled
(but it’s about my ancestors)

Several works in progress about my Louisiana Creole ancestors.