CHUKES
Artist Statement

My art is an exploration in the experience of life. No matter what I encounter, I will never stop creating my visions! The three current topics explored in my work are identity theft, the female influences in my life, and the visualization of music and its emotional effects on my art.

In all my years working as an artist, Identity Theft is the most spiritually profound work I have ever created! As my conscience evolves, I realized that my art is my most powerful weapon. The misrepresented in history and dehumanizes of Black people by the media are in dire need of change. Humanity and the beginning of world civilization began on the continent of Africa by Africans! We must not let history forget this fact! The work of Identity Theft comes from deep in my soul, and they are created to make a positive change! The words and images in this book express my truth about race, culture and history. During the past eight years, I have exhibited selected pieces of 80+ works at galleries, art institutions, colleges, universities, and museums throughout the United States. This monumental exhibit and my book, “Identity Theft: Creations From A Social Conscience” is having an extremely positive effect with enlightening audiences. Identity Theft continues to gain momentum as future exhibitions are being planned. If I don’t create and speak the truth then my work means nothing!

Most of my art gravitates on and around the female. The female is everywhere in art and life. Just look around you and you will see! They birth and nurture humanity, even during times when it seems like there is no hope! The life they carry is most often a gift and at other times a terrible curse, yet the female perseveres like the unending and expanding universe. As a male, I could never imagine what it would be like to give birth to another human. The closest I will ever get is to create art that expresses the truest and profound meaning of my life! I never take the female or my art for granted, I come from the female! The female is the greatest work of art ever created. I am their clay!

Music is my greatest creative inspiration. When masters of their instruments hit a groove that shakes your soul and causes you to get up and move your body in ways that are unnaturally sensually but excitingly pleasing, I believe this is what art should do! I play the bass guitar because I want to know what it feels like to make music, but I am much better at playing in CLAY! Listening to music live or in solitude opens my mind. I am eclectic in the music genres I listen to, just like the people I know or meet. Music is the universal language, as it tells a story of our history in such beautiful and haunting ways. Some days it’s world-jazz or fusion, R&B, classical, and rock, and at other times it’s nothing but pure FUNK! For me, listening to music is like hearing the countless voices of the world speaking to me and telling their story. It leaves me feeling very enlightened! My art is the instrument that shakes my soul to the core! If you look deep at my creations, you will experience a symphony of KNOWLEDGE and LOVE! Music should open your mind not corrupt your SOUL!

I am always evolving as an artist. Something old may become something new as I explore and adapt new techniques to my creative processes. I am currently working on a new series titled, %Flower Child* which deals with my experiences growing up in the 1960’s. My visions never leave me hungry or empty, there always enough ART to feed my soul and nourish the world!