LIGHT, PEACE, AND PROGRESS
Digital art and illustration / mixed media 18” x 24”
Brazilian Carnaval 2003
Opening ceremony for group Ilé Aiyé (House of Life)
Curuzu, Liberdade, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

The work addresses feelings of detachment to our roots, family, history, and culture. My dual role as an artist is being a creator, visual storyteller, and preserver of community traditions through traditional images. As a digital artist, I tell stories about aspects of culture, ceremonies and rituals. Historically, many have lost traditions, practices, and beliefs of the past, which were stolen during enslavement and/or through abandonment, in the pursuit of progress and development. My intent, through the visual and creative arts, is not to romanticize and glorify the past, but to use my digital art as a tool to bring about cultural awareness.
As a visual artist and educator, my interest is in sharing this ethnographic research. My photo-documented research includes sacred, social and cultural events in the relevant fields. I want the audience to be struck by the energy of the digitized art imagery, explore new ways of thinking about community expression, and have a story to share after experiencing the work.

The expectations are to explore new ways of recreating experiences through integrating digital technology, design, painting, photography, and new media printing visual effects. My ideas are developed through personally participating in indigenous ritual and traditional events, researching, and gathering information on culture. The photo-documented images are captured and archived. These universal themes of culture may ake us aware of our global commonality.