My practice's framework reflects the philosophy I call "The Pursuit of Healing." The pursuit of healing follows two significant concepts: "Radical empathy" and "Antifragility." Radical empathy lets the spectator actively place themselves in the subject's shoes vicariously, allowing the viewer to understand their experience better. Antifragility does not dismiss these traumatic experiences but instead emphasizes the resilience required to recover from them. My art serves as something other than an escape. I deal with reality and the complexities we face as black people navigate the world. By framing my work in this manner, I can demonstrate the psychological effects of post-traumatic growth and the stages of healing. My first sincere attempt was the "False Face" series, which was me framing the world as I saw and lived in it. That body of work began with me looking inward and critiquing black boyhood and the idea of what it meant to be a "man," as well as the constant struggle with identity, belonging, trauma, and unaddressed mental health in the black community. The use of cultural nonverbal communication as a tool in those works was visible in the "gaze" of the portraits, a reference to the hypervigilance that can sometimes occur in our communities. Throughout this process, I also asked myself how American history has contributed to the bewilderment of black masculinity and manhood. The "False Face" is an environmental critique. It demonstrates the physical and physiological consequences of trauma. As a prequel to my renowned "False Face" series, the "TRF-98" (Transgenerational Rorschach Fragments-1998) continues the dialogue from a closer vantage point. What are the physiological consequences of what's going on behind the scenes—the battles that people don't see—that we fight? This innovative method evaluates cultural, genealogical, and personal issues critically. The focus is on the function of Black bodies and the pursuit of healing when dealing with the internal effects of trauma. New techniques and materials, such as digital collages intertwined with family photo archives and repurposed materials, are used to investigate the elusive nature of transgenerational trauma. Collaging from an amalgamation of profoundly personal yet culturally relatable moments lets me display the beauty of the black family and our customs. Exploring these moments allows me to demonstrate joy and the juxtaposition of other adversities hidden throughout our culture and the nuances we face. In this work, the use of black and white alludes to the idea that some people believe trauma is monochromatic when, in fact, it is a grayscale spectrum. I hope to present authentic images of what healing looks like by investigating our past to understand where we came from while also being aware of the world around us and assessing where we are now to begin our pursuit of healing.