“2020 has been quite a strange year… COVID19’s invasion has forced us all globally to alter our daily routines and life drastically. It has affected the economy, business, political and social infrastructures and has revealed varying levels of leadership. Additionally, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease: Lupus, which causes the body to attack itself.  As a result, I have been categorized as high-risk during this Pandemic. 

Within the sudden lockdown, I turned to books and podcasts, took swimming lessons, started meditating, and picked up gardening. The Pandemic has given me the time to reflect, reject, and respond to this space. I have learned so much about myself and decided to incorporate my journey through the unpredictable nature of Lupus into my work…imagining Lupus as a space that the Beings are living in and in which they must respond. 

My journey through Lupus has shaped and navigated my art and performance work in new directions and dimensions, further pushing me to discover more about myself. I am understanding and embracing myself as a humanist, artist, activist, feminist, and a lupus warrior. As a Black Caribbean woman from Barbados, I am both questioning and stating my identity, race, gender, and sexuality openly. Pen and ink drawings with watercolor washes, acrylic paints, and spray paint on a canvas… I am looking for a narrative which is mirroring the bizarre world I am currently living in. 

The Pandemic has revealed so much about our human condition. It is a restructuring and acknowledging of the structural positions of race, class, gender, sexuality, and social space. This year 2020 has shown us the importance of healing, understanding, and accepting oneself. It has greatly taught me about the appreciation for and delicacy of life, Self-Care, and Self Love.