“EDUCATION SHOULD NOT SIMPLY TEACH WORK, IT MUST ALSO TEACH LIFE”
W.E.B. DU BOIS
I am a multidisciplinary artist that is interested in activism, community, and contemporary narratives that relate to black histories.
My art is mainly a response to the classical old master paintings hanging on the walls of art museums around the world. But also includes master narratives in literature, film, music, and media. I study their messages, compositions, application, and narratives, then I take that information and filter it through my own unique black experience.
I mix classical figurative representation with urban expressions of freedom using text, oils, acrylic, spray paint, color, photography, video, and object making. Looking at one of my paintings or objects you will be met with a history lesson. Some of the iconography is easier than others to recognize. I twist it, pull it, layer it, and reclaim it in a way that is true to me.
My making is diverse because access is important. People engage with art in different ways, and that difference leads me to create with multiple disciplines. Accessibility also refers to resources. My object-making comes from finding discarded materials and using them to build canvases, boxing rings, basketball goals, and even more.
Most importantly I want my culture to see themselves within the work. To see that they are worthy, beautiful, and enough.
Contact me:
tramaine.wilkes@gmail.com
RESUMÉ:
Adelaide Fortune Holderness Graduate Fellow
Award
2022
Remix: It’s an Art-form
Exhibition
2021
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, UNCG
Graduate Student
2021 – Present
Prince Georges County Public School
Parkdale High School – Teacher (Drawing & Photography)
2018 – 2020
Enriched Schools – DC
DC Charter Schools – Substitute Teacher
2017 – 2018
Author/Illustrator
2017
Through Colored Lines – Arts & Activism Tour
Artist – Curator
2016 – 2017
Art For Justice
Artist Solo Exhibition
2016
Just For Kicks
Artist Solo Exhibition
2016
Harding University
Bachelor’s of Fine Arts
2013
US NAVY – Enlisted
Mass Communication Specialist
2005 – 2009