“WE SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE”
DAM R&B N PAINT - FEBRUARY 16, 2024
“love, a story as old as time, knows only the depths of our interconnectedness as humans with each other and the world we live in. it is the beating heart of a life that never truly ends. love is in every person and every thing. it is in every smile and every hug. love is a choice, a doing. love is a force that remains even in the face of death. this collection is a celebration of love in all its forms, a demonstration of how love can show up in our lives through ourselves, each other and the cosmos. let this serve as a reminder of the ways we can allow love to guide and shape us because the truth is, we are all fluent in the language of love.”
special thank you to my DAM family for encouraging me to take on this project. this was an exhibition for the books.
"Mr. Bear is a big part of my life, he’s always been a safe space for me since I was a child. I think Mr. Bear is an extension of myself in a way. My self-love is something I lean on heavily. I was always a hyper-independent person so I it’s not as easy for me to lean on others. I try to fill my own cup so I can fill up cups of my loved ones, with what overflows from mine. At the end of the day, no ones going to love me the way I love me, and thats exactly how my bear shows up for me. I think society has put a lot of conditions on us that make it hard to be kind to ourselves. We have to learn to love ourselves without those conditions because the love you have yourself can never run dry."
“This necklace belonged to my dad, he wore it for most of his life. When he met my mom he promised her to pass it down to their son. Sure enough, when I graduated high school he did exactly that. His death made me think about how much love he really gave me and how it extended into the other people in my life. No matter how much time passes, he will always be my hero and my best friend. This necklace also represents the amount of love and hardship that he went through. Its funny to think about how such a small object like this necklace, can hold so much weight. Even though my dads not here physically, I can still hold onto the love he gave me and it’s my driving force in this life.”
“My great grandmother Maddie handmade this quilt, it was something she loved to do often. She held our family together when she was alive so I think this quilt continues to represent her here even though she's no longer with us. Its beautiful knowing she loved to create and used quilting as her outlet because I love quilting myself and am a creator in my own way. Every time I look at it, I remember she used to tell me “you have no limits in this life, you can be whatever you want” and that keeps me going to this day.”
“My dear friend had been hearing me talk about how much I wanted to get into film photography but I couldn’t afford a camera at the time and I hadn’t tapped into that world yet. But when my birthday came around, he gifted me this one. It’s a camera I’ve used for years now, I’ve taken some of my favorite photos with it. He opened up an entire world for me to explore. So when I think of love outside of being a romantic, its a feeling of joy, being seen, and feeling connected to each other. With friends, they love the core of you and they’re the ones who hear the quiet needs that you have because of that. My friend is someone who chose to love me as I grew into different versions of myself, he feels like home to me.”
“Everyone has personal standards they set for themselves and I think my partner is an affirmation of that. He treats you in the way you imagine to be treated, he set the tone for me, I would never accept anything outside of that. My daughter helped me become a more grounded person, I’ve learned so much just by wanting to set a good example for her. With that, I think food is the way I can show that love and appreciation I have for them. I love to feed the people in my life because the people that loved me, fed me everyday.”
“I grew up with dogs and helping foster them until they were healthy or homes were ready for them. Bailey came into your lives this way. I remember the day he saw us, he jumped right into our laps, literally. My Maw-Maw fell in love instantly so we took him in, cleaned him up and gave him a name. Six months later she passed away and at this point I’m 18 and moving out, starting my life, I didn’t expect to have a small dog. But for the last 8 years he’s been my best friend. Many people choose to buy dogs for a number of reasons, but I was lucky he chose us. In any form of relationship, many times you ask yourself how you found love and you answer with “well I don’t know it just happened”. I think thats how love works, it just happens.”