Artist Statement with Commission:

 

Country Park is a place where I spent a lot of time in 2022. The piece entitled ‘Our Collective Table’ is inspired by scenes at Country Park and is an expression of my love for our city.  

I believe that Greensboro evolves as we honor and learn from our past human and ecological relationships.  The images I have created in this artwork represent the processes of people coming together to rest, share, replenish, move, laugh, and remember.

Our city hosts people who have arrived here from a variety of entry points.  We have families that have been here for generations, families that are recent or established immigrants, and students from all over the world.  Each person who lives in Greensboro has a unique story, and these stories often find themselves convening at one of the 100+ parks in Greensboro.  

When I visit Country Park, I am often struck by the beautiful diversity of people there. This art is inspired by and honors the public gathering spaces in Greensboro that allow people from many different walks of life to come together to connect with nature, history and each other. 

 

Our eco-system holds our stories beautifully, and I believe trees are the most powerful multigenerational griots in our communities. Griots are people in West African cultures who share and express the history of a community, typically in oral forms such as poetry, music and story-telling. This mixed media art piece features a Beech tree, Magnolia tree, Oak tree and Longleaf Pine - four trees that are indigenous to our area. In this piece, these trees are hosting people around the lake, which represents a table, welcoming visitors daily.  For me specifically,  these trees and lake also signify the potent connections I have made during my time with the Black Women's Art Collective, making art together around OUR collective table.  We need these natural meeting spaces and the d different perspectives that enliven them.

Human figures are challenging to represent without prejudice so I wanted to use artistic patterns to represent the human form.  Though our identities are pivotal in understanding justice and equity in our societies, humans also hold a beautiful spirit that transcends our race, class, gender, ability or other identity markers. I represented the spirit of Greensboro’s human population with vividly-colored, decorative circles. Lastly, The cemetery is featured to symbolize the imperative of honoring the dead as we honor the living.