I’ve always been drawn to writing, and it has become such an important part of my process over the years, helping me sort through each thought to find clarity.
A few months had passed since my first solo exhibition, The Clouded Perception, held in 2019 at Homme DC Gallery. After a critique following the exhibit, I was considering how to reapproach my practice from the ground up.
Sketches followed swiftly — dozens upon dozens of drawings of the human figure, collages made from magazine clippings, graphics overlayered with textures of paintings I photographed using my phone, and a lot of writing. The more I created, the more inspired I was.
One of the writings explored the idea: "More Windows to the Soul than One." I always thought of our souls — how they shrink and grow, how they glow with love and harden with hate, and their duality as they wane between light and dark — so many layers evolving simultaneously. Beautifully enigmatic.
With this in mind, I returned to the popular saying, “Eyes are the window to the soul.” I made many sketches before I was inspired to begin drawing eyes in a circular orientation. As the circle is a symbol of themes such as rebirth and transformation, the pairing felt natural. Over time, these eyes took root in my practice as a central symbol— one that reflects the layered nature of our existence is, both individually and collectively.
At the beginning of 2024, I began experimenting with sewing paper and various textiles together. There was a lot going on in my personal life that I was contemplating and so much of it was transmuted into art. The first piece I created using this process was my work "Of a Soul". Inspired by the evolutionary cycle of the zodiac sign Scorpio, the work featured the circle-of-eyes symbol over a sternum and ribcage, an emerald-green & royal blue scorpion at the base of the sternum, iridescent wings ordained with ornamental leaves, and southern live oak trees draped in Spanish moss. Ultimately, the evolutionary tale coalesced with the symbol, speaking to the ideas of rebirth and transformation, further emphasizing the idea that there were more layers to our soul than one. Later, I would display this work with a mural of the symbol painted around it in my third solo gallery exhibit, “Moments Make a Palace”, establishing it as an addition to a growing lexicon of personal motifs meant to convey themes that were pertinent to my practice.
"Of a Soul" , 2024
Installation of "Of a Soul" w/ circle-of-eyes installation
While this symbol was seen, felt, and heard, I wanted to take the concept and expand on it through other mediums, exploring how it can be expressed in other ways. This would culminate into an activation in February 2025 titled: More Windows to the Soul than One.
This activation — an experience intended to expand on an idea through art in means such as viewer participation— included graphic art-illustrations, original art, limited-edition merchandise, and finally, an interactive element.
At the beginning, viewers were met with three works. The left and right were graphic art-illustrations while the center work was my work "Of a Soul".
Following these was my work “Ever Present”, a depiction of soul-windows wisping around a southern live oak tree covered in Spanish moss. An ode to my familial connection to Alabama, where the tree is a reference to the southern live oak standing next door to the home that my great-grandfather built and great-grandmother cared for. On the opposite wall, near the entrance, was a small study that I felt compelled to include. A triptych of vivid graphic art-illustrations was placed side by side and finally there was my favorite work of the show: Felt the Sun in the Void: A graphic art illustration that chronicled the arrival of several soul-windows traveling through the void, soon to enter a new reality. The last part of the activation was an interactive element that asked viewers a question that I asked myself over and over again during the process of making the work that was shown in my most recent exhibit:
The question was “What does connection mean to you?" and it has honestly reshaped my entire practice, making me question such as why I choose to show my work, who I do want it to speak to, and what do I want it to do for others and myself.
The question was “What does connection mean to you?" and it has honestly reshaped my entire practice, making me question such as why I choose to show my work, who I do want it to speak to, and what do I want it to do for others and myself.
Handwritten on a plywood display, the question invited viewers to share their thoughts, asking them to contemplate on the question at hand. One of my favorite things was seeing people get to the last artwork, see this question, and then circle back through the show to think about their answer a little more. This made me excited to not only consider more interactive installations in future shows but also to continue my research on how they foster connection and expand world-building.
Presented by my brand Onewing to Fly(@onewingtofly), the activation was an interdisciplinary expansion on the circle-of-eyes symbol and its representation of the many windows that reflect our soul in different ways. Through patchwork, graphic art-illustrations, original artworks, and screen-printed merchandise, this idea is shown through the many eyes of the artist, reflecting a process-oriented approach to hold space for themes such as spiritual impermanence, the reverence of memory, and personal / interpersonal connection.
