Right On

office had the chance to sit down with Emily and discuss the nuances of her mixed-media work, the interplay between self-reflection and a sense of community, and what it means to her to be able to continually honor her heritage through her pieces.

Your work focuses on showing how vivacious and close-knit New York’s Caribbean communities are. How do you encapsulate such a colorful, familial community just within the scope of a canvas?

Spending time in communities like Flatbush and Jamaica, Queens emphasizes the time I spent in Haiti and Trinidad. In these communities, I get a true sense of home, from the conversations I have with others to the food from the family-owned shops. The time spent in these neighborhoods is very intentional as I think about a way to commemorate and honor these spaces. I think about my work existing in Caribbean homes and aunties sharing and passing along my work. For me, each piece conveys thoughts on how I can memorialize moments in my life that make me feel at peace and at home in my heart.

What does true joy mean to you?

True joy for me looks like hanging out with my friends, dancing to a song that holds a specific memory, eating something that reminds me of where I’m from, talking about something I’m passionate about, and watching a movie from childhood. The truth in joy transforms our existence; it is a renewable source that bridges us with one another.

When you do feel undeniable, unbridled joy, how do you portray an intangible feeling as such in your work?

Through color, I am able to physically depict this intangible feeling. Selecting colors and associating them with each emotion allows me to create a full image of vivaciousness. The 3D materials I use in each painting are a very joyous additive; they help the work become more existent. When I form a collage for my work, I look at the expressions of all the people and how they communicate with each other. The paintings contain a lot of the actions and movements that remind me of joy.

Your paintings resonate in such a profound way as they conjure feelings of nostalgia, even if depicting a place or moment that viewers may have never experienced themselves. How has your use of vignettes portraying everyday life helped you work through your own past, experiences, and relationships?

Nostalgia is like the key to anyone’s heart; its ability to unlock the memories of our lifetime helps us navigate our experiences and relationships. Viewers take this journey with me from my childhood memories to futuristic ones that have yet to be physically proven but feel precise in the heart. These vignettes become records of celebration, where I have been, and who I spend these precious moments with. My paintings begin to function like a photo album, images that are not set to one specific time but contain all from one’s life. To take an ephemeral adventure and create longevity with these beloved moments allows me to honor my memory and give thanks for these occasions. It has been very healing for me taking time to paint these vignettes.

What is the most significant lesson you have learned about yourself and your identity through your ever-evolving artistic experience?

I learned that you can begin again over and over. I’ve learned to start over whenever I’m faced with a blockade. The lesson of “what will be for you will always be” helps me to think about my ever-evolving future and how ablaze it is. Thinking about each day one day at a time keeps my peace within arms reach and allows me to understand my artistic practice at the pace I’m comfortable with. I’m attentive to the many lessons I’ll learn along my travels.

What do you hope others gather from your work? Do you hope it inspires a similar process of self-reflection and realization in viewers?

I'm hopeful that my work inspires others to love the ones around them and hold them close tenderly. I hope all my Caribbean people see my work as a shoutout to them and me giving thanks to the culture I was brought up in. I think the process of self-reflection is important in making my work universal. I enjoy viewers looking and thinking about their families and the memories they share. I remember at a gallery show, a grandmother came up to me and told me this painting reminded me of all her grandchildren and that she had to show them — that, to me, is the highest accomplishment in my eyes.

I’ve read that along with your upbringing and those close to you — a large part of artistic inspiration for you comes from music. If you could design one album cover for an artist, who would you choose?

Yes! A lot of music keeps me going in my visual practice. Just listening to music and dancing in my studio helps me paint. That was my first love. I was singing before I even picked up a brush. My favorite cover artists are Robert Springett who did work for Herbie Hancock and Corky McCoy who has done work for Miles Davis. I would love to design cover art for Kelela. I can envision the cover already, with a dynamic composition of women taking up volume. Another part of me wants to time travel and do a cover for Diana Ross for all my 70s babes.

As a young artist, you have so much room to grow in your craft still. You’ve worked within the mediums of painting, sculpture, and collage — is there any other method you’d like to try?

Somehow, I would love to incorporate more music in my visual practice. Thinking about how sound can exist in my work is something that I’m beginning to open up to. Dance as well is a medium that transforms space and carries the same movement held in my paintings. Also, a lot of the work my dad makes through architecture interests me in world-building. I wonder what it would be like working with him on something. I can also see myself going back to school for culinary arts to be able to make the dishes I enjoy and take on art visually in that realm. Art is so vast in that way — there are so many different mediums that become languages for your overall message. I believe I can do it all — there’s a lot of life to live!