“When I create, I tap into storytelling, poetry, music, and especially my personal past. ”
SOULDEGA: Did Visual Art choose you or did you choose it?
TIFFANY: Visual Art 100% chose me. As a child, I was captivated by trying to "recreate" the world around me using a sheet of paper and pencil.
SOULDEGA: Where do you draw your inspiration from when creating?
TIFFANY: When I create, I tap into storytelling, poetry, music, and especially my personal past. I can see in many ways how the stories told to me over and over about my ancestors are finding their way to my canvas, especially in pieces like "Dessie's Gotta Gun" 2018.
SOULDEGA: What has been your most challenging piece of work so far and what was the journey behind it?
TIFFANY: I wouldn't say one piece, yet the body of work I created for my Dec 2018 art show in Bushwick was especially meaningful. I had over 10 pieces in oil acrylic and pencil, translating into about 300 hours of work. I def poured my soul and tears into each of them. It was also the first art show my family attended. and that was special since we had just experienced the death of my uncle just three months prior.
SOULDEGA: Do you consider Art as a form of Activism? If so, how has the racial and political shift in our country shaped your creative process?
TIFFANY: Absolutely. As a student in figure drawing classes, the ratio of black nude models compared to white are striking. Seeing art of a black person depicted by a black person is activism. It shouldn't be, but it is. It's challenging the notion of eurocentric features as the standard and changing it to reflect the world in a truthful way. To me, it's the freedom of telling my own narrative that is not filtered through the gaze of a non-black consciousness.
SOULDEGA: Who are three of your favorite female Artists?
TIFFANY: This first comes without surprise but: 1. Frida Kahlo 2. Toyin Ojih Odutola and 3. Reyna Noriega
SOULDEGA: What advice would you give your younger self with the experience you have now in Visual Art?
TIFFANY: Partying is cute and all but you should be painting.