Oletha Devane

My art practice is an attempt to alchemize my experiences by focusing on the spiritual and cultural/political life where there is a fusion of African and global/history of traditions. The racial specificity is to structure the stories of black lives to create metaphorical spaces for contemplation. The sculptures, assemblages, and videos are based on African, African American and Haitian culture in which there is a long history of objects co-existing to represent the spiritual worlds. As a multidisciplinary artist whose work addresses cultural history and stories, I search for ways to infuse the works with social identity and mythology. I feel I'm allowed to use multi faceted ways of expressing an idea through research and implementing best practices as I learn about new materials. The memorial to "Those Enslave and Freed" will provide such an opportunity to do a sculpture in materials I have not used before. It will be a large fabrication of steel and glass.