Mawhyah:

Links:

Website: http://www.mawhyah.com/Instagram:Merch: www.society6.com/mawhyah

Statement: 

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and when it comes to the beauty of bold, unapologetic confidence, you'd best behold it. "Beauty" is simultaneously loved and loathed. And Black, plush, plus size women exist at the intersection of worship and fetishism. Yet... they will continue to exist fabulously and beautifully carefree.”

-@mawhyah

(Continued): “In my work, I sometimes use the poppy to symbolize the dead and the ancestors. Existing as Black is always being surrounded and reminded of the systemic killings of Black bodies. I like the meanings of flowers and plants. I like to illustrate mostly women because we are somehow being lost in the movement for Black lives and I aant to break the "othering" cycle. I use bold colors because I refuse to live demurely and let others determine what being feminine is. Those colors will make people stop and pay attention. It will make them stare. 

I focus conceptually on portraying everyday microaggressions and more overt macro aggression’s and combine them with Black/pop culture because they aren't something Black people can ignore. It's constantly there. In everything we do. In our art, music and dance. In fashion, politics and food. My pieces are my way of conveying the message that these concept of the act anti-blackness that are new for some are interwoven in the existence of others.”

Curator Daisy Meisler and Zoe Walker