first lily, 2024

First Lily is a self portrait reflecting how I have come to understand myself post-academia. The orange lily is a motif that I use in my work to represent acquired experiences and newfound understandings of one's identity. This fantastical creature has these lilies growing around it, showing how I have gotten to know myself as an individual in this time. The five eyes of the creature represent the five people that I have had on my mind each day: my mother, father, grandmother, godmother, and cousin. The background consists of fabric scraps from other projects, showing that I am, and will continue to be, a collection of everything that I have already done.