Four Women

Since the beginning of Covid, I changed the product of what I do. Out of the necessity of three artists (partner, daughter, self) living within two and a half rooms, I carved out a small walled section in which I created work that could fit on a 32-inch-wide table. From that table I began what would eventually be over eighty collages titled Brown Limbed Girls. These girls graced billboards for the City of Chicago’s Covid Awareness program, were featured on public television, and shown in New Orleans and Oakland.

At first viewing, the “girls” seem all whimsy and at play. But they grew, as did their messages—like the 21st c. Pieta (published in Obsidian 46.2), which built upon the solemnity of Michelangelo’s Pietà and the solemnity that affected the country after the death of George Floyd.

Prior to the Brown Limbed Girls, I created fully intentioned shows, serving as artist and curator. Those shows have spoken to Water issues (Dust in Their Veins), Original American Injustices (Hooded Truths), and an honoring of the words of Octavia Butler with So Be It. See To It.

Now that the country is moving into a whole new epoch, my work will inevitably change again, but always carrying vestiges of my upbringing, my love of words, my love of James VanDerZee and Romare Bearden, and my love of all of the forms and ways and laughter of little Black girls.

Instagram: @chleeart