1) Can you trace, in detail, your African diasporic trajectory from ancestors, the reasons for locating in St. Croix, describing your nuclear family, and the reasons for choosing Hawai’i and Oahu as a place to live. What other places were considered? Why?

I am Afro-Latino. My father was born on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and is of African ancestry. My mother was born on Puerto Rico and is of African, Spanish and Taino (one of the people indigenous to the Caribbean) ancestry. My mother was a headmaster and my father is a lawyer with a passion for history.

Our family is very fortunate to have kept one of our African surnames; this is generally unheard of for families that endured the Middle Passage. My paternal grandmother’s name is Exira Marie Sackey. The Sackey surname is from the Ga people in West Africa (Ghana). Our family has always been very proud of its roots. My siblings (3 sisters, with different mothers) and I all inherited this pride. Our living room had an extensive collection of scholarly books that celebrated the history and accomplishments of the African diaspora. Since the 1970s, our Sackey family in the Caribbean has slowly made its way back to visit our family in Ghana. I had the honor of making this pilgrimage in 2001.

After more than half a year of travel through Asia, Nicole (my sons’ mother) and I – who were based in Brooklyn, NY at the time – considered relocating to either Atlanta (because the large Black population and my love for real estate investment), San Fransisco (because of the progressive lifestyle) or Hawai‘i (because of the holistic lifestyle). We agreed on Hawai‘i and moved sight unseen in search of a better quality of life in 2008.

2) How and when did you choose to practice capoeira? What does its practice mean to you and your creative practice?

Capoeira is a way of expressing oneself that has always felt very natural to me. I’ve practiced some form of martial arts from the age of five. I studied various Asian martial arts until my first class of Capoeira in New York, at the age of eighteen. I was a sophomore at the time attending SVA (the School of Visual Arts). While walking through my dorms on Lexington Ave and 23rd St, I heard drums. After a little investigation, I determined that the sound was coming from an adjoining dance studio. I walked in, saw that the class was just beginning, ran back to my dorms to get workout clothes, signed up on the spot and have not stopped practicing Capoeira since (that was in the Fall of 1995).

There is a complexity of expression within Capoeira. This complexity can be found within many practices born out of the African Diaspora. Capoeira is layered, it exists where history, call & response music, dance, martial arts and spirituality meet. It isn’t just one of these things, it is all of these things at the same time.

Like visual arts, it has become a way for me to interact with our world. I loose myself within the movement the same way I loose myself within visuals. Unlike my approach to visual arts, Capoeira is a communal practice for me. It drew me out of hermetic tendencies and into a newfound voice and sense of confidence. It also has layers of mysticism and timelessness that mirror the landscapes that I pull from artistically.

3) Why did you choose the mediums of painting and drawing for your artistic practice? What interior landscapes did you bring with you that influence your expressions and how has the cultural and physical landscape shaped your creativity?

When it comes to visual arts, drawing was my first love. As a child, entertainment was simple; Oftentimes as simple as pencil and paper. I could loose myself for hours in a simple piece of paper; Whether it be during my high school classes or at a restaurant with family. Essentially I drew whenever and wherever I was idle. My childhood interest was piqued by comics and grew into a love for the line-work of Leonardo da Vinci, for the celebration of culture by Frida Kahlo, for the scale and accessibility of Diego Rivera, and for Charles White’s genuine portrayal of the African American experience.

I have travelled the globe during my 48 years but my artwork continues to pull from my childhood experience growing up on St. Croix. I remember the exact moment in time when I made a promise to myself to create artwork that would honor the beauty of my culture and that of the African Diaspora as a whole. There was an immense void where there should have been  content that portrayed my experience authentically.

I long for a world that acknowledges and respects the beauty, the ingenuity, the contributions, the history, the sanctity and the brilliance of the African Diaspora. This is where I draw my inspiration from. Each piece that I create helps to shape our collective narrative.

$500 framed print, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$500 framed print, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$500 framed print, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$500 framed print, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$2,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$3,000 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$3,000 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$3,000 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$3,000 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,500 framed original, $125 unframed 12×12″ print

$1,000 framed group of 28, $125 per select unframed 8×10” print

$1,500 unframed original

$1,500 unframed original

$1,500 unframed original

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed original, $125 unframed 9×12″ print

$750 framed print, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$750 framed print, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$2,000 framed original, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$2,000 framed original, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$2,000 framed original, $125 unframed 16×10” print

$2,000 framed original, $125 unframed 16×10” print

Original not for sale

Original not for sale

$2,500 unframed original

Request 2 musicians (wearing white or beige clothes), one on guitar and another on conga, playing Cuban Son or classic Salsa.