Amahl

Performance through existence

[ifiamanrtist]

Their Eyes Were Watching Black Women

Magazine clippings•Glitter•Modge Podge

[ifiamanrtist]

Making stickers 😈

[ifiamanrtist]

This was the first piece of my series A Place Dead Flowers Bloom. The alter was created from crutches and one of 4 casts i wore after i broke my ankle and leg in 2015. The interactive exhibit encouraged spectators to use smell, listen, play, and pray. 

I was coerced by a friend in 2015 a few months before my ankle injury that forced me to return to my childhood home where not only did i have to heal physically, but mentally and emotionally. I had lost control and my sense of self. “I used to wear flowers in my hair” I would say. My hoop, that i once carried with me everywhere, was tucked in the back of my closet. I had no sexual appetite, no attachment to my body, i lost another 10lbs, i stopped praying. 

In creating A Place Dead Flowers Bloom I recreated myself.

[thewilde]

My piece for #OperationConsentLA

“I might learn to let go if you learn to hold on.

If your sister is carrying too much weight, reach out when she cannot.

Ask me what i need before assuming what you have is helpful.

Sometimes we need help helping our sisters.”

In this piece I wanted to show my experience in feeling alone after my friend raped me and needing to ask for help and support, but not being able to ask because of pride, fear, and frustration. But my sister reached out to me. she asked me what i needed. she asked me how i was feeling. she called our other sisters and they lifted me up. the higher i rose, the more flowers cascaded down. I went from empty to full of beauty, inspiration, forgiveness and hope.

[ifiamanrtist]

My piece at #OperationConsentDC.

I wanted to create something that symbolized growth through bondage. As a victim of sexual assault, i have felt bound by my experiences and that can be stifling. but i remember the vines that cover entire houses and tree roots that break through concrete sidewalks and remember i too can still grow despite the things that seem to be stifling me. Flowers do not ask for permission to grow nor do they fight with the winter winds to stay. This is the art of simply being. In being, planting seeds. Im planting seeds, growing a garden. Dont worry about carrying the water. The rain will come, your seeds will grow.

The text reads:

“I was heavy. 120 lbs of broken bones, promises and hearts collected in broken wine bottles.Somewhere in the clutter i sewed a seed. But how could i bear the water if i could barely hold my own weight?My body ached. How could i move. I howled at the moon. Would he ever lift his curse?”

[ifiamanrtist]

Dream Girl 001.

a self portrait series.

[ifiamanrtist]

"If I Am An Artist" series x Amahl

Song Written and Performed by Vocals: Elize (IG: @CyborgShawty) Guitarist: Chris James (IG:@Hellastrings)