Guidance, 2023

 

Artist Statement:

Combining elements of neo-expressionism, graffiti, and African art, I create abstract mixed-media images, sculptures, and collages of the Black diaspora to celebrate, uplift, and communicate complex emotions of Blackness. My practice is rooted in expressing communal and transformative experiences of Black Americans with an emphasis on ancestral practices and lineages. Using a variety of mediums such as photography, clay, spray paint, wood, digital art, and acrylics, I redefine people, objects, scenery, feelings, and statements, allowing room for multiple perspectives. I use patterns, lines, shapes, and symbols throughout my pieces to pay homage to my ancestors, reproducing familiar visual and aural signs and arranging them in new conceptually layered installations.

Created from a home studio, my work navigates and encourages Black liberation through visual depictions and influences of Black culture, community, sustainability, joy and expression. Serving as a reminder of the many ways that activism, culture, and joy can coexist, I create art that is bold in color and complex in shape and style, to stand out as an extension of the community members it reflects. My work encourages reflection and inspires change.

BIO:

Brittany Moná (Moh-Nay) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Maryland, working across mixed mediums such as clays, acrylics, photography, digital art, and wood. Growing up, Brittany was exposed to intergenerational cultures, African folktales, spirituality, art, and community, all of which are commonly reflected throughout her art today. Precedent times allowed Brittany to further explore artistic mediums.

Combining elements of neo-expressionism, graffiti, and African art, Brittany creates abstract images and figures of the Black diaspora to celebrate, uplift, and communicate complex emotions of Blackness and its intersectionality. Her practice is rooted in expressing communal and transformative experiences of Black Americans with an emphasis on ancestral practices and lineages.

Some of Brittany's influences include Basquiat, Ama Thomas, Thomas Jackson, Frank Stewart, Dada Khanysia, and Blu Murphy. These artists inspire Brittany to think critically of ways to create emphasis within or around the subject by using a range of mediums and techniques.

Brittany's work has been in group exhibitions at the Smithsonian Castle, Dupont Underground., Hera Hub D.C., and Rhizome D.C. Future exhibitions include The Phillips Collection: Digital Intersections series.