This piece was the first to reference my nomadic narrative. It was created for my first solo exhibition held at the Watts Towers Arts Center in 1996 titled, “Into the Dream Box”. The collaged images on the stacked wooden boxes are photos from the many houses I’ve lived in, which at that point numbered at least forty.

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This piece began as an installation at Project Row House in Houston, TX through an invitation from Rick Lowe, the founder. It depicts my family’s sojourn through a legacy of urban displacement and migration and how our sweat equity was required to create redlined houses into homes. I used old photos of where we lived and discarded bottles found in the streets to convey my family’s contributions within a community that represented collective struggle.

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I remember loving my metal skates as a child, and this attraction to anything on wheels has never gone away. Combining an old roller skate with a cardboard shoe box instantly took shape as a house on wheels and brought “My Road to Freedom” to life. Created in just a few days, it was presented in the annual “incognito” fundraiser exhibition for the Santa Monica Museum. This unsigned artwork was recognized by my art patron and collector Dr. Joy Simmons, who supported the Nomad since its inception.

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In this group exhibition, CAAM curator Michelle Lee invited artists to imagine a future both personal and cultural. For me, I wanted to share my dream of building a mobile, portrait home that is a narrative art dwelling. I salvaged wood and corrugated sheets, old doors and windows, hubcaps and branches. During the installation process, I was featured in the exhibition as the artist builder. I discussed with viewers the ideas about “Home” as I continued to work on the structure.

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