Deandra Lee

Lives and works in united states

Artist statement

“In all my work, I try to say - You may be given a load of sour lemons, why not try to make a dozen lemon meringue pies?”- Maya Angelou As a black women born in America I grew up puzzled by the fact that I was stamped at birth. Put into a position where I faced judgement and bigotry for only merely existing with the color of my unchangeable skin. Someone, most people, everyone already had something to say before I could even speak. My blackness became their hatred, greed, lies that created slashes for centuries that denied us our liberty and freedom. Out of curiosity I started to think about things black people couldn’t do. Some were just imbecilic thoughts that eventually were true. Like Maya Angelou, my sour lemons is the hatred that was vaulted onto me since birth by millions. As an African American, I am making images that discuss the inner and outer intricacies of my world in an effort to compress that hatred. In the surge of great mortification and fabrication of the crusades demolition that is America, I sought the idea of creating Sanctuary to uphold the history that is forcibly being erased. The more I thought about the things that we as black people couldn’t do; it became my Sanctuary to create a place where we did do the things we were never supposed to do, be, or feel. Time has shown us over and over the visuality of who belongs and who doesn’t. There's rejection and cultural norms that don't fit the "standard" of what a black person is or should be. And our...

Artwork