FEATURES
maya davis raejeana brooks ari gaskin tesha gant
...and my artist name is MBALINAGAWA. My artist name is a combination of African words meaning 'to flower and share.' I am lucky to have realized my talent at a young age and I have never stopped creating since that discovery. I am inspired by women of color including myself and nature. I usually create from a mix of my own imagination as well as a photo reference but mostly, I just have fun! I am currently obsessed with watercolor paint because it's so fun to play with; I find it amazing mixing all types of colors together by simply adding water. But I generally do line drawings with pencil and ink. I strongly believe in sharing your passion with the world to inspire others to do the same. Art is whatever you make it and it is something we live for.
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BY TESHA GANT
Travi$ Scott inspired these set of portraits. Mysterious and intangible men obviously have a hold on me. Still trying to figure out whether it’s the challenge or the honor. Or both. Travis has a way about him that most people do not understand. He’s only a genius to me. Everything he does speaks him. His music, his visuals - he’s in everything he gives us. You know a Travi$ Scott beat when you hear one. Everyone wants to hiding his face in every photo. What’s funny is how everyone correlates that to self esteem issues. But if you were to watch any of his interviews, you’d probably think otherwise. You’d call him cocky. We want to share with you how blessed we are - but not really. I relate.
location: avenue #92, bogota, colombia
Graduating from film school and dipping off to Bogota and not attending yet another graduation of mine was very selfish of me. And that’s how I feel when I see the photos I took there. I’m always worried about my own happiness even though I still worry about yours while I’m “enjoying myself”. Bogota is such a great city. So beautiful and genuine. The women were so confident and had an “I’m a grown ass woman” aura about them that you could not turn away from. So inspiring. A friend of mine described them as women who want to share their beauty with you. Men…
location: Flatbush, brooklyn, new york, new york
December 6, 2014. The number six weirdly runs my life. Roughly started to notice this in 2008. Because it sounds pointless; I don’t tell many people. In 2014, I got a cheap last minute class fly out to New York for my birthday because that’s what was going to make me happy at the time. My teacher was hating so hard like missing one day was really going to impact my grade. When I landed in NY, it was so cold and rainy.But because to me it was so city-like to grunt and power walk through shitty weather, I was cool with it. Flatbush is where I spent most of my time. The building I AirBnB’d in didn’t have an elevator, which was mind-blowing to me. Everyday, all day I walked up a staircase and passed by beautiful red doors until I reached the 10th floor. Felt like I was in a M. Knight Shyamalan film. After taking film, I don’t see photos anymore. Now, I see stills. Stills from a scene of a movie that I don’t have time to shoot.
location: “behind the vegan spot withall the graffiti..”
This photo always takes me back to last year when I first moved to Los Angeles (2014). LA was so new to me and I was so curious about the city. Everything was so beautiful to me. Just a kid in a candy store really. I think this time frame was a good time for me. I had left everything that made me feel comfortable just to be free from it. I don’t have many photographers that I look up to because I honestly don’t know any, but there’s a guy named Lark Foord and he inspires me. I took this photo way before I ran across his work, but I can see why I fell for his eye. There’s no info on him or what he looks like. All you see is his work. And it’s not like anything else you’ve seen; and you know when you see a Lark Foord photo. That’s what I hope for too.
I am a shadow bobbing beneath the streetlights, walking
LARGELY, gently,
a • lone • ly BY RAEJEANA BROOKS