Untitled #1 (Harlem)/ Sin Titulo #1 (Pelo Libre), 2004.

Influenced by the socio-economic changes and transitions of my Harlem neighborhood, this piece was inspired by all of the small African hairbraiding storefronts in Harlem and the bits of “urban tumbleweed” that they surrender to the streets.  Pelo Libre (Free Hair), although shaped by the very concrete and harsh realities of a gentrifying neighborhood, speaks to larger issues of mobility, transition, shapeshifting, and cultural hybridity.