This Is On You

Artwork story

"This Is On You" is a hyperrealistic portrait created with charcoal and colored pencil on Bristol paper. The subject is set against a stark, void-like background, her monochromatic skin contrasting with vibrant cowrie shells and floral adornments. Her gaze is confrontational and unflinching. Rather than inviting the viewer inward, the piece turns the gaze outward, challenging the viewer to confront the implications of her expression and positioning the viewer as an active witness that must be held accountable for her condition.

Most people approach art expecting a window into an artist's inner world, a quiet offering of confession or reflection. "This Is On You" is a deliberate refusal of that expectation. Instead of inviting the viewer inward, the gaze turns outward, reversing the traditional dynamic between observer and observed.
Working in charcoal and colored pencil, I built a texture intimate enough to demand attention, then isolated the subject against a stark, void-like background to remove distraction and force direct confrontation. The contrast between her monochromatic skin and the vibrant cowrie shells and floral adornments sharpens that effect, marking her as rooted in a specific cultural inheritance even as she stares the viewer down.
Her gaze becomes a mechanism for accountability. You are no longer a passive witness; she forces you to reckon with your role in shaping the world that affects her. To stand before this gaze is to lose the shield of neutrality. The sorrow in her eyes is not a spectacle to be consumed. It is a consequence of the world you help maintain.