Lauren Falls
As a black mixed-media artist, I endeavor to take up space in places where I may struggle to fit in. I create art that explores my journey with my mental health. I illustrate abstract portraits with natural elements intertwined into the composition. Through nature I am grounded to the familiar, whether that is my surroundings or my history. In nature, I am free to explore, create, honor, and witness. By witnessing, I am able to see humanity in my surroundings. Mostly, I am connected to tapping into the female form echoed in nature through the curvature of the tree trunk and limbs. It is interesting to create the metamorphosis of finding the human body in the trunk and watching the figure come to life as I move my way to the crown of the tree. In addition to nature, I am highly influenced by surrealism and abstract art. My muse, Salvador Dali and surrealists have a way of connecting the dreamlike state and evolving that idea to the real world. I have taken this idea of the metamorphosis between the dream and waking world into the real world into my own work.
About the Artist:
This piece explores the many masks that African Americans wear in daily life, a visual narrative of resilience, adaptation, and emotional complexity. Through three distinct versions of the self, I depict the ebb and flow of emotions—joy, pain, strength, and vulnerability—that shape the lived experience. Each figure represents a different facet of identity, highlighting the tension between authenticity and the societal expectations that often demand constant transformation. This work is both a personal reflection and a broader commentary on the emotional labor of navigating the world while carrying the weight of history, culture, and self-preservation.
36"x90" Tension Banner Stand Print
Illustration by Lauren Falls (Lauren Rose Illustrations)