Marcela Adeze Okeke

In a world where Black bodies are associated with brutality, I present a counter that comes from highlighting Black individuality. Who am I? What creates inner identity? What makes one feel worth something? These are the questions I ask as I create. I explore the layers of myself by creating figures that in turn use each other and the viewer to identify and accept themselves. I mix the abstract and realistic even in a single figure because I strive to push the boundary of what we view as completed work. I conceal parts of my figures behind thick layers of color in abstract landscapes to reflect the known and the unknown parts of the self and the constant development of self-discovery.

I am interested in the intimacy of understanding oneself, others, and nature, which is why I paint my subjects nude to emphasize authenticity and vulnerability. I often paint several figures together that are in some way connected, either intertwined or physical reflections of the other. I do the same when I explore the understanding between people and the environment, creating subjects that appear to be at the intersection of human beings and flowers, or trees. As my work is a reclamation of the Black body and, more specifically, the Black queer body, my work is fundamentally about acceptance. I strive to dissolve the association of Black bodies and brutality in my work through creating paintings that center on Black femme, queer and differently-abled figures connected with nature, abstraction, and vibrancy. I create Black bodies in this way because this is how I know us: not defined by harm and death, but by light, color, beauty, and passion.