“My thesis is that modern life is a collage and we all live in a collage.”
The medium is the message. Photography is all around us, giving us suggestions, telling us what to buy, telling us what our friends are doing, how to look and what to wear, and reminding us what we don’t have or lack. Sometimes I just want to take all the advertisements I see, rip them up, and create something fresh, optimistic, and new. Collage has allowed me to do exactly that.
Why Collage?
This desire to collage was reignited by my college professor in the Visual Communications program at Endicott College. He frequently lectured about the “Information Age”, which came to define the generation that I grew up in. But as the internet grew and social media became popular, this access to information became overwhelming and things started to feel like the “Age of Clutter.”.
Frustrated, I started collecting magazines, removing the pictures, and sometimes the text to use in my collages. This form of creation has allowed me to literally play with elements of modern life and themes of my own identity in a metaphorical sense.
When you look closer and examine the details for what they are, things become much more clear, and the bigger picture starts to take form. I am a Maximalist, which the the opposite of a minimalist. I like to decorate my art with many hidden words and images. Each section is there for viewers to look closer at, or to escape into.
I am a 30 year old black man.
Growing up, I was one of the only kids of color in most of the schools I went to. I am adopted, and my adoptive family identifies as white. Identity is a daily chore for me, especially as an African-American. Collage helps me work through this. I can take the tiny and seemingly unrelated pieces of what I see and try to make a work of art. I have fallen in love with the process and I am excited to see the end result as it starts to take form. My work encapsulates the themes of consumerism, identity, earth, and music. These themes inspire me because they are frequently on my mind and close to my heart.
Artist/ Exhibitor
Raw Boston art exhibitor, MIXX 360, Malden
Symphonies Barbers featured artist, Roslindale Square
Dedham Artist Guild art exhibitor, Dedham Center Theatre
Out of the Blue Too Art Gallery & More featured artist, Mass Ave, Cambridge
SPACES Grand Opening art exhibitor, Newbury Street, Boston
One Design Center Place featured artist, Boston
10th African American Ball art exhibitor, Yawkey Club of Roxbury
The Switch Co-op featured artist, Hyde Park
Conception Artshow featured artist, Boston
Bitcoin Conference featured artist, Miami Beach
NFT OASIS Metaverse exhibiting artist
Hubspot Virtual Gallery exhibiting artist
The Lucky Jungle exhibiting artist, Cambridge
Lord Hobo Brewery exhibiting artist, Cambridge
Stratosphere Art Showcase, Beijing China
NFT Stars exhibiting artist, Melbourne Australia
International Exhibit at M.A.D.S. Gallery, Milan Italy
Aldila- Beyond the Obvious, Fuerteventura Spain
NFT NYC, New York New York
Norwood Space Center- Norwood Massachusetts
Awards
2018 Conception Artshow ‘Award of Excellence for Best in Show’
2021 Conception Artshow ‘Award of Excellence’