Laura Sligh
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Gentrification
2020
Mixed media with wood buring relief
30"x40"
Statement
Laura Sligh is an interdisciplinary artist and arts educator. She combines the genres of theater, performance, and production. By combining these different genres, she compiles them into a mixed media of visual art. Her art is complex and layered, not only visually but psychologically and emotionally. Her work often deals with the current political climate, urban life, gentrification, and giving voice to the unseen.
Laura also loves working with the feminine form. Her layered paintings of women speak to the concepts of femininity, beauty sensuality, and power. She uses different painting techniques to express her voice on canvas.
Laura has been an arts educator in Baltimore Maryland for many years and often finds inspiration for her artwork from the communities in which she works. This inspiration can be seen through her writings and the production of theater or through visual art forms. Laura has the ability to inspire students as well as being able to give voice to their stories through theater and visual art. Because Laura started out as a performer, she understands the process of creating from all sides and equally values all aspects of production, whether it is on a stage or in a gallery. No matter what the medium she is working in, her work is always visually intriguing and thought-provoking.
Laura’s recent visual works deals with the destruction of Baltimore communities and the influx of gentrification. It also gives a narrative to the voices of the poor and speaks of their reliance to thrive and overcome adversities.
Her newest work, Who Am I? This timely written and directed by Laura is her thesis project. Through this piece she examines America's fraught racial history and our complex identities to redefine our role in the human collective. This work brings light to the often untold history of African Americans and gives insight into why black and white people view and deal with each other and what changes have to be made to become a beloved community.
Community Arts (MFA) Students