ARTIST STATEMENT

My creative liberation is an act of rebellion.

A way of vocalizing the graffiti of words and images in my head. Drawing inspiration from urban street art, much of my work is crafted with the grunge of city culture, the sounds of shaking spray cans, and the smell of aerosol in mind. Mixing mediums, my personal expression manifests in the form of typographic prose, abstract paintings, photographic narration, handcrafted objects, character illustrations and digital imagery.

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Much of what I create is in homage to the people, places, sights, and sounds that continuously mold my style and creative outlook. My work has journeyed from pen and ink, to graphic prints, and currently to mixed media and acrylic paint on a variety of surfaces. The themes have varied, but often touch on subjects of hip hop culture, race, and social justice.

 

As an arts educator, I’ve made it my mission to make the arts and art creation accessible to people of all ages, but especially for youth and young adults from our city’s underserved communities. Much of my programming and my teaching in the school setting is facilitated within our inner city, in order to give the youth of these areas inspiration and to be a representation of what is possible

 

BIO

Ess, as in the letter "S" for Sylvia, and McKee - my middle name.
Hello, I am Ess McKee.

 

Since the age of eight, my love for creativity, music and the arts has inspired me to make my dream of becoming an innovative, artistic entrepreneur, a reality. 

 

I discovered my passion through my appreciation of graffiti art and hip hop culture. By creating sketches for my classmates in middle school and designing t-shirts for different organizations, I began to grow in my craft and came to realize where my talents would best be served. I decided to continue to develop these talents in college while attending Ball State University, (where I majored in Industry & Technology, and minored in Studio Art). In addition to pursing my education, I was given the opportunity to create several t-shirt designs for the members of the Ball State Track & Field Team. On Ball State campus is where my entrepreneurship and life of an artist began. 

 

Currently, I am a full-time multi-hyphenate visual artist, Resident Artist at the Harrison Center For the Arts, Associate Faculty at IUPUI - Herron School of Art & Design and a member of the XVIII Art Collective.