Artist Statement
Social Justice Posters
While the BLM movement is expanding everyday, taking care of our mental health in these tough times is just as important. I want to empower everybody who is dealing with mental health issues to know it's okay to seek help, and there's nothing wrong with facing these challenges. As a person of color, I want to bring awareness to these issues to my community, where mental health and seeking help is looked down upon. I want to end the stigma around it.
Throughout this program with CAW, I wanted to do as much as I could to bring awareness on major issues within the African American community that have their roots in systematic racism which will no longer be tolerated. I want everyone to know when we say Black Lives Matter, it refers to all of these issues, including mass incarceration, police brutality, and lack of support for mental health. This program and these projects have allowed me to do make those points.
The biggest challenge I had with this poster was the placement and hierarchy of the different elements, such as where I placed my slogan. My first draft was in black and white, but I finally decided to embrace color and, although it is subtle, I feel it adds to the story I wanted to tell.
Inclusive Stock Photography
The Inclusive Stock Photography project was designed to address the scarcity of people of color, multicultural people, and LGBTQ+ people in commercial stock photography by creating professional-quality images of these underrepresented people in a variety of everyday settings, including romantic and platonic relationships, family, and communities.