|about the artist|
Valliolah (Vallie) is a US based interdisciplinary artist, who focuses primarily on three- dimensional collage pieces. Vallie’s work focuses on (1) issues regarding womanhood, (2) the nuances of the Black experience, (3) interpersonal relationships, (4) themes of family and ‘home’, and (5) examining what makes us as, as humans, feel ‘whole’. Her approach is multifold, both rooted in experience, but also sourcing authentic relics to tell her story. The materials used in her works are both traditional art materials- such as acrylic paint, clay or audio elements- but also physical mementos and smaller art pieces that represent the sociological factors that created her framework. Working on primarily wood or canvas, she portrays the ethos of the subject’s current reality, while depicting how simply her analysis of said subject changes the reality of it. With legitimate artifacts from her qualitative process, coupled with strong fine art imagery, Vallie creates a visual manifestation of her hypothesis. Collage pieces are either standalone or a part of a multi- piece series. Aside from any living, breathing elements, she believes no medium of art is off- limits. In past pieces, she has used Swarovski crystals, car battery wires, acrylic nail extensions, police reports and many more. The core foundation of her artistic process is authenticity, as she believes all examination of the humanistic discipline is strongest this way. Her art aims to merge social analysis with the human condition; to offer access to social and psychological theories; and to make difficult themes more palatable through relatability.
Her objective is to remind her audience of the correlation between identity and personal perspective, while challenging the natural psychological urge to discredit conflicting perspectives- instead of learning from them.
Vallie has formally studied sociology, law, broadcasting, film and behavioral health. Her seemingly wide array of interests are all connected by the same thing- her natural curiosity around human vicissitude. As a fortunate consequence, her artistic process is only strengthened by her consistent exposure to different processes of examining human behavior.
This online portfolio contains her digital collage pieces.