"Exuviae"

I created this piece in honor of my cousin while also critiquing Black bodies as a manifestation of masculinity. I wanted to capture a moment of both physical and spiritual emergence in Exuviae. Exuviae are defined as the discarded, shed outer skins or exoskeletons that arthropods leave behind. Their insect-like wings represent metamorphosis, which means to take off or strip off to the man's position, reaching for wings to rip them off to escape the skin and the shedding of previous selves. It celebrates and honors the strength, freedom, and vulnerability of becoming.