laila james

Senior Guild, Level 4

A Seventeen year-old young black woman from New Orleans, Laila describes herself as “smart, determined, and indecisive.” Refusing any black-white binary, her art demonstrates the explosion of colors that make up our world and her inhabitants and reveal the different shades and tones and highlights that, when combined, form one’s personality. An exploration of the sweet and spicy parts of life, Laila’s work seeks to connect the beauty of the natural world to the everyday things we absorb. She emphasizes natural beauty through lily pads she would admire in City Park. Inspired by her mother’s sweets, French macarons in a multiplicity of colors reflect first viewing of their sweet taste. Pairs of denim pants and jackets become more than everyday clothes. Each piece insists upon a conceptual framework that asks viewers to think twice about what we see and what, perhaps, we are taking for granted.