me·trop·o·lis:
depictions of downtown
this is a love letter to detroit, michigan, by capturing the essence of growing up in a culturally and historically vibrant city .
in the narratives i choose to tell, conversations of wealth inequality, environmental injustice, and racial stereotyping exist beneath the complexities of nostalgia and the significance of depicting a predominantly black city in the media . using a mixed-medium approach, i hope to invite others into my interpretive history of detroit, offering context to a reality skewed by systemic inequities throughout american history . these works are layered with undertones of struggle and resilience, featuring themes from detroit's historic music and automotive history, michigan's native plants, and more.
this project was made in tandem with penny w. stamps school of art & design 2024 senior ip exhibition
in the lush of tragedy, 2024
4 x 7 ft
oil paint, charcoal, gold leaf, and print media on canvas
in the lush of tragedy highlights things that I find to hold significant duality between positives and negatives of detroit overall .
the people mover is directly nostalgic for me and holds a lot of positive memories personally, but i have had many conversations with native detroiters where it is controversial to think so . and, this is similar to the riverwalk and many main streets of detroit, as there are pot holes, stupid speed limits no one follows, and cops lurking at every 1st of the month .
riverbank grapes are michigan native plants that vines in clumps and produce semi-sweet fruits; fruits of labor and, in this case, tragedy . they are inherently resilient in temperate climates and typically stand as a symbol of community .
mint condition, 2024
5 x 3 ft
oil paint, charcoal, gold leaf, and print media on canvas
mint condition marks detroit as a significant hub of music and performance .
depicted behind the woman holding the 1976 “happiness is being with the detroit spinners” vinyl, is a picture of joe von battle who opened his own record shop in detroit’s historical black bottom during the 1940s . It was burned down in the 1960s during the police riots, as were many other black-owned businesses .
house and techno music formed many significant subcultures within the underground music of the motor city in the 1990s, along with hip hop .
trilliums are michigan native flowers that are considered “slow-blooming” between 5~9 years —speaking not about the undiscovered, but to the underappreciated through an intentional steady rise to conversation .
hustle (harder), 2024
5 x 3.4 ft
oil paint, charcoal, gold leaf, and print media on canvas
hustle (harder) is a direct homage to the unprecedented automotive industry within detroit, specifically the workers
i grew up around all kinds of people who worked at ford and general motors while i was first learning about how the job market worked and the knowledge has stayed with me all these years .
bloodroot flowers, Michigan native, get their names from their red-orange stem and root systems—and as detroit was one of the first automotive hubs in the united states, many people had to fall victim and sacrifice for its glory . although they are intensely resilient, these flowers die without proximity to water . they speak to the importance of the auto industry to detroit residents of past and present, whether they stand with or against unions, and whether they like it or not— “detroit hustles harder” either way .
a look into the process 2023 -2024
research / contextual presentation
as a part of the senior cohort requirements for taking the 2024 ip studio, we were tasked to compile all research used and incorporated into our making . this includes artistic influences and interdisciplinary precedents that were important for understanding our project.