I position my artistic practice as a narration and commentary on blackness and social death. Highlighting the systems that enable and trauma that is carried from that existence, I craft narrative through experience and contextualize my work through absurdism, existentialism, and afro-pessimism. I use and subvert these frameworks through visual mediums, aiming to breathe life back into those same spaces of black social death. My art is meant to challenge, reshape, and reimagine both personal and communal understandings of our internal and external worlds and how they interact.
Lawrence Strickland (b. 1998) is a multimedia artist who specializes in a number of visual mediums including but not limited to oil painting, ink, and 35mm photography. Originally taking inspiration from popular media and guerrilla art, Lawrence’s style has evolved to incorporate elements of surrealism, impressionism and semi-realistic cartoon styles. Through these styles, Lawrence has crafted their own visual world, emphasizing self-expression, empathy and authenticity, the driving forces of their art. By integrating their own experiences and narratives on social and personal topics, they create layered and dynamic pieces rich in meaning, color and expression, spanning a number of different mediums. Their work challenges viewers to slow down and truly take a trip into the ever-evolving world and voice of Lawrence.