In my work I explore themes of identity, authenticity and cultural symbolism as they relate to the Black Diasporic experience. I pull references from Zulu art and culture such as beadwork and traditional clothing to incorporate them into my vision of Afrofuturism.

Some of my sculptures are 3D representations of Zulu logograms, by Zulu shaman Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, who claims that they are a historic Zulu pictoral written language. He was popular among European and US New Age crowds in the 1980s and 1990s and published several books, there is no evidence to back up his claims about this alternative writing system.

This question of authenticity is explored in the context of the Black Diaspora. Is cultural authenticity possible when the location of diasporic cultures is by definition always in between and not fixed? The uncertainty over the origin of Credo’s symbols mirrors these concerns, but it also poses the question whether authenticity actually matters. Maybe their purpose is not in reflecting historical record, but in communicating something about the relationship between the subject and the observer in the present.

By taking Credo’s written symbols and turning them into three dimensional sculptures, they are transformed from metaphors into objects, removing them from context so that they can then take on new meanings and interpretations.

My ceramic practice constantly reminds me that I‘m creating objects that will far outlast me. Earthen materials are turned back into rocks - they may shatter but fragments can last thousands of years. I fabricate future artifacts, objects that hold deep meaning, even if the reference may not be clear immediately.

The work seeks to find a symbolic language to anchor the liminal. It is an effort to reach across time and space and create a fixed point of reference, a guiding star, a port. An artifact for the future. I want to encourages the exploration of the relationship between the subject and the observer, identity and authenticity and past, present and future.