Lailee Josephine
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Artist Statement
I aim to portray Black female American identity through an interdisciplinary fusion of collage, painting, and sculpture. My work is an exploration of my own identity, as I endure racial tensions through the method of self-portraiture. In the compositions are narratives that subliminally represent Blackness and female emotions. This is done through illustration and adorned figures to capture and highlight Black, female emotion that traditionally have not been represented within white-washed institutions.
Using self-portraiture, I direct the gaze towards my body and leave myself open and vulnerable to scrutiny. The rendered bodies are often unclothed and “exposed” in their environments. I juxtapose the natural materials that I collage with, with man-made objects, reinforcing each narrative and creating tension. For example, a rendered body constructed of wood, may be enveloped in a scene collaged with faux elements such as- glitter, fake plants or magazines. Without sexualizing Black bodies, I aim to highlight beauty and embrace the low and the high.
Faux decorative elements serve as symbols for material culture; collaged within those elements are the bodies. Combining these elements of sculpture, collage, and painting becomes a translation for my interpretation of Black female American identity.
![Black woman framed by hair while she is bald and being overcome by green infectious paint.](_images/01_laileejo-660x825.jpg)
Infected // Oil, Acrylic, Mirror, Hair // 18in x 24in
![A glimpse through a green veil, of a Black waist adorned with beads.](_images/02_laileejo-660x661.jpg)
My Waist Beads // Oil, magazine, beads // 24in x 24in
![A Black figure being baptized behind a wooden blind in an environment being overwhelmed with plants.](_images/03_laileejo-660x989.jpg)
Unwieldy // Oil, magazine, faux leaves, tiles, wood // 36in x 54in
![A Black woman with a fruit basket as hair in a meditative pose with one hand symbolizing that she is okay and the other with gold keys.](_images/04_laileejo-660x995.jpg)
Takin’ A Breather // Oil, photograph, embroidery, rope, wood // 24in x 48in
![A glimpse through a pink veil at freshly manicured nails with long acrylics displayed across a woman's chest](_images/05_laileejo-660x660.jpg)
Fresh Set // Oil, flocking powder, magazine, glitter, mirror, linen, acrylic // 24inx 24in
![Eight foot long hair shielding the Black woman behind it.](_images/06_laileejo-660x1085.jpg)
Don't Touch My Hair //Colored pencil, acrylic, magazine, yarn // 3ft x 8ft
![A realistic Black woman in a domestic space with her material alter directly to the right.](_images/07_laileejo-660x501.jpg)
Me, Myself, and You // Colored pencil, graphite, panel, collage, mixed media // 4ft x 5ft