Q&A with Brittni Mosby

Briefly describe your thesis project. What themes are you exploring, and in what mediums/with what materials?
My project explores the fractal nature of the interwoven narratives within personal and collective African diasporic histories. The term fractal refers to the infinite, self-similar patterns that emerge in nature, echoing the way we process experience and knowledge, where each moment, each layer, contains echoes of the larger whole. My family archives, wood, and shea butter have served as anchors for this project. I hope the reverence I have for the complexity of this project is felt and that people can bring their own histories and we, as an artist and viewers, begin a quiet dialogue.

Did you always know this was going to be you final project? When or how did you figure it out?
There definitely has been a lineage to this work in terms of research and material throughout my time here. After my first semester, I realized that I wanted to continue to pursue the nuance of fractal memory and the interconnectedness of the African diasporic history. Between research and making, it is a generative process of constantly questioning, “Am I articulating my thoughts visually?” and constantly checking in with myself intrinsically, to make sure I am experiencing some level of curiosity and joy.

When or how did you know you were an artist?
I often think the people around an artist knows before the artist does. My mother recalls the time I would spend drawing at this little red easel that I had when I was younger and during times like that, I think to myself “Wow, I have been doing this for a while.” Being creatively inquisitive is a lifelong process and in that is the search of intentional looking and making.