I was born and raised in Haiti and came to the US at fourteen. At thirty-two, I moved to Manhattan from Brooklyn, returned to school to finish my degree, and began reconstructing my life. Because language often failed me, I sought other ways to relate to the world. I traveled and visited museums. I developed an eye and a critical understanding of art; I learned to see differently, globally and intimately.

When I studied at the Art Students League, I found my own unique voice and began my painting practice. My training as a reference librarian influenced enormously how I view the world and, ultimately, translated to my research-based approach when making art. In painting, I give voice to elements about the world that I find intriguing, wondrous, and troubling. My experience as an immigrant and a long-time observer of American life is deeply woven into my paintings, allowing me to explore fully the hybridity of my many identities: Haitian, New Yorker, diaspora, traveler, observer, and Wayfinder.

Drawing from a deep sense of displacement and feelings of otherness, I wrangle meaning through observation and employ organic shapes, templates, text, and collages to reinterpret the world. My work emanates from inquiry utilizing fragments of my world: literature, social and political commentary, the news, walkabouts, overheard conversations, and daily observances. I infuse my paintings with texture using collages and other found objects to build a foundation. While experimenting with mark-making and text to establish a cohesive statement, I build layers of meaning. My color sense sometimes corresponds to memories of past things; when those are fragmented, they add a unique and mysterious element to the piece. The text is unrevealed because I've heeded my grandmother's words: "Toutes les vérités ne sont pas bonnes à dire" (Not all truths should be told). Words are sometimes scratched, patched, erased, and muted. Words matter. Words hurt, heal, and when they are unspoken, they become more potent in their forced silence. Words bind the work to itself.

Through painting, I have expanded my use of language, thereby expanding myself. Some tensions feel resolved; some do not. My art is where I find my most complete self and where I leave space, texture, lines, words, and shapes that invite the viewer to find their reflection as well.