ARTIST BIO
Sasha-Loriene McClain is a Maryland based multidisciplinary artist whose work is informed by her inner-child healing journey and search for home. Born to Liberian immigrants, Sasha-Loriene explores mixed media figuration and collage to cultivate home independent of time, space, and location and actualize the intersection of storytelling and artmaking as a tool for African diasporic healing and empowerment. In doing so, Sasha-Loriene engages multiple channels in an effort to unpack ancestral memory, process loss, and archive generational stories beyond practical use and word of mouth into contemporary works of art.
Sasha-Loriene is a 2023 grant recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts. She has participated in artist residencies in Maryland and exhibited in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Florida, and the United Kingdom. As the founder of Mahyue Studios, a community arts incubator centering healing, storytelling, and cultural exchange, and Black Girls Who Paint, a global movement supporting Black women and girl artists, Sasha-Loriene leverages her BA in Economics from University of Maryland: College Park and MPA in Public Management from American University to amplify her artistic voice and social-engagement on larger scales.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My understanding of home beyond infrastructure deeply influences my art direction. As such, I center ‘play’ and ‘discovery’ to reconnect with my inner child, document my healing journey, and explore the potential of inner-child healing as a means to dismantle and reconstruct core beliefs that shape our existence.
Currently, my practice explores what it means to cultivate home within myself through two overarching questions: (1) How have my childhood experiences left long-lasting impressions in adulthood and (2) How am I meeting the needs of my inner child today? To find these answers, I draw inspiration from practitioners including author Louise Hay’s “Mirror work" for self-love and healing, artist Laura Wheeler Waring’s journey in portraiture for approach through experience, and artist Romare Bearden’s exemplification of Black culture and imagery for emphasis of the past into the present. I utilize personal photographs, influential relationships, and art forms enjoyed during youth, such as collage and crochet, to reconnect with parts of myself that I disconnected from during adolescence into early adulthood. I also incorporate balloons to symbolize hope, dreams, and memories of passed loved ones that have impacted my life. In doing so, I honor individual evolution, contextualize the world around me, and express gratitude for lived experiences as a whole.
My work primarily consists of paintings that utilize bold colors, textures, and compositions to emphasize the liberating nature of childhood expression. I share the stories of my inner child Mahyue, my childhood nickname for ‘girl’ and the symbol I incorporate as my signature, as well as those rooted in ancestral memories passed down through generations into each work. I engage various materials such as, acrylic and oil paints, pastels, found objects, thread/string, repurposed canvas, and paper, to mirror the inquisitive nature of children and offer an intimate exploration into childhood memories and their enduring impact on adult life. I deconstruct childhood wounds through an intuitive approach to portraiture, figuration, and abstraction to create works that evoke nostalgia and invite the audience to appreciate the small moments of joy in everyday life.
As I cultivate home within myself, I heal and empower my inner child to run free within my offerings to others. I invite viewers to engage with their inner child and journey alongside me towards healing. In doing so, we contribute to collective healing and spark a communal reimagination of the world, leading to a more empathetic worldview and positive influence on future generations.
For all inquiries, please contact info@sasha-loriene.com.