Because the traditions, language, and legacies of my communities(Black,Trans,Queer, Appalachian) rely on a largely oral and embodied tradition, the true strength, resilience, beauty, scope, and impact on all culture is mostly ignored. What does get highlighted is often through an academic lens or via appropriation/theft( often severing the tie to the original source). Through painting, illustration, sculpture, performance, and ritual, I aim to remedy this. I have recently been very drawn to D. Scot Miller’s afrosurrealist manifesto and the idea that “beyond this visible world, there is an invisible world striving to manifest, and it is our job to uncover it.” and that we can create this world from lived experiences. Through my practice I am building a world of gods, spirits, practitioners, deities, and demons, all participating in an endless dance and cycle of self discovery, growth,empowerment, and rebirth. This world acts as an allegory to the endless cycle of growth, healing, re-birth, survival, and empowerment that is at the core of the Black and Trans experience.

First and foremost, I make work for myself and others like me, to indulge in the celebration of our beauty, divinity, and light, to see ourselves represented in spaces we are often kept from, and to connect us to our growing legacy. I strive to bring this work into academic spaces, gallery spaces, and other institutions that have historically removed, hidden, destroyed, stolen, or passed over our legacy, voices and stories. While my references are specific, I do not enjoy the label “identity work” applied to my practice in a reductive way, because all artists put their history, knowledge, and experience into their work.

Currently living and working in Peoria, IL

Email:   msalexander9210@gmail.com

Instagram: @ms_alexander_martin

@ArtemisiaVanHo

 Project1612:  project16twelve@gmail.com

              http://project1612.com