Some artists create images. Others build worlds.
Working across cartoon illustration, animation, comics, and cultural archiving, this multidisciplinary artist has grounded their practice in the power of visual storytelling. Through vibrant, imaginative landscapes, they explore the intersections of identity, memory, and community, using narrative to bridge personal lived experience with the broader realities of contemporary Black queer life. Described in three words—Queer. Black. Ethereal.—their work exists somewhere between a dreamscape and a document. Each illustration functions as both a reflection and a reimagining, inviting viewers into spaces where cultural history, fantasy, and everyday life coexist.
At the heart of this work is a deep connection to the Caribbean and the ocean. Rather than treating water as a simple backdrop or visual motif, they approach it as a vessel of ancestral knowledge and collective memory. For them, the ocean is a living archive, holding the stories, histories, and absences that continue to shape the Black diaspora. This relationship to water shapes not only their subject matter, but their artistic rhythm. Their illustrations move with fluidity, depth, and mystery, feeling less like static images and more like portals into submerged worlds waiting to be rediscovered.
An equally vital influence comes from a very different environment: nightlife. The queer nightlife spaces they have inhabited over the years are foundational to both their artistic voice and personal growth. Within those walls, they first witnessed collective liberation unfold in real time. The music, movement, sweat, light, and community transformed dance floors into sanctuaries of self-discovery, shaping an expansive creative lens that guides their work today. That emotional connection dictates their process. Their practice is deeply intuitive, driven by feeling rather than rigid methodology. The work often begins from a place of vulnerability, letting emotion guide both concept and execution. It is this raw sincerity that gives the work its resonance, translating personal moments into visual narratives that connect on a profoundly human level.
A major turning point came in 2021. Collaborating with fellow artists through the collective MASISI for PERMAQUEER, a group exhibition examining the intersections of queer ecology and the climate crisis, they created Erzulie Memorial. This large-scale, immersive installation honored the lives of 45 Black trans women lost that year. Drawing inspiration from Erzulie, the family of spirits in Haitian Vodou associated with water, femininity, love, and protection, the installation blended animation, sculpture, sound, scripture, and ritual to create a space that was simultaneously a memorial, an altar, and a sanctuary. Visitors entered quietly. Some prayed; some cried; others danced. The work proved that art can hold seemingly opposing emotions at once: grief and celebration, mourning and joy. More importantly, it solidified a central goal of their practice: creating sacred spaces for Black queer and trans communities.
Now, that commitment to worldbuilding is entering a new chapter. After years of developing characters and environments through illustration, they are expanding into animation with Club Oasis. The project imagines an underwater nightclub and sanctuary created for "queer children of the water", a vibrant refuge shaped by the themes they have spent years exploring. Fragments of Club Oasis have actually lived in the background of their illustrations for some time. Bringing this world to life through animation isn't a departure; it’s the natural evolution of their journey. Beyond animation, they are looking toward sculpture, experiential design, and physical installations. The chance to pull their illustrated worlds off the page and into three-dimensional spaces, places audiences can physically enter and inhabit, is their next frontier.
Underlying all of this is a firm belief that creativity cannot be separated from community. To emerging artists, their advice is grounded in perseverance, collaboration, and mutual care. In a challenging creative landscape, they champion continuous learning and authentic sharing, while fiercely protecting personal limits and sustainability. They hold the same vision for the creative industry at large. They envision a future where queer creatives, particularly Black queer creatives, are not just celebrated for their cultural influence, but are backed by the resources, infrastructure, and funding needed to build lasting institutions. For them, representation is only the first step. True progress means creating pathways for ownership, leadership, and long-term equity. Whether through a comic strip, an immersive installation, or an animated short, their work constantly asks what becomes possible when we treat imagination as a tool for both preservation and liberation. In every world they build, the answer feels a little closer.
