I Am We: Licia Priest Crafts Clearer Lenses to Connect Us

By Kelsey Knott Photos by Matt Johnson 

“I’m not trying to change the world. I can’t–but I can share what I saw through my lens, my experiences.” Licia Priest, a fine artist known for cityscapes, changes gears with I Am We at KMAC Contemporary Art Museum, a layered photography collection depicting city and rural spaces and residents shaped by the region’s welcoming atmosphere.

A young daily visitor of the Speed Art Museum, Priest’s mother, Joyce Neal, instilled in her a love for art at an early age and continues supporting her today, proudly walking visitors through Priest’s work on the day of our interview. Priest draws inspiration from her life experiences. “It’s about self-discovery and finding my roots. Being a part of the African diaspora, the ability to know details about my ancestors and who I am was stolen from many. It’s inspirational to conduct research and translate that into works of art that I can share with others who may also view Africa through a narrow lens. It’s not a country. It’s a continent with varying cultures.” Thus, travel is indispensable to her process: “Without my travel, knowledge, and life experiences, I would have no art. The media gives us whatever lens they want, and often, that’s all we know, especially if it’s a land that we’re not traveling to. Most of the time, when people think about the 54 countries in Africa, they’re thinking of everybody as impoverished–little kids with mucus and flies on their faces, everyone living in a destitute village. But there are big cities just like here that are absolutely thriving and bustling. There’s beautiful architecture, beautiful villages, cell phones are plentiful, and you can find all the modern conveniences that we have here. People often don’t know about that side of life in Africa.”

Through paper tole, an old craft technique that involves manipulating, duplicating, and layering photographs to create intricate, three-dimensional pieces, Priest masterfully fashions a new lens for us. “There’s so much diversity in different techniques and directions I take my artwork. I want there to be textural qualities as well as areas that are really slick, so I meld painting, sculpture, and photography as well as craft techniques. Sometimes people look at craft through a negative or simplified lens, but you see extremely beautiful works that are craft, and we’re so refreshed by their attention to technique and detail. So, I would hope that one would look at my work and see the origins of the craft, such as paper tole and paper bead making, as well as what I have made it come to be.” The namesake of the collection depicts Licia donning a dress that, with a closer look, reveals tiny 1/8th inch images of individuals who have shaped her life. “I really want people to take the time with the artwork. I spend an enormous amount of time on one piece. When you go around the sides to see its construction, there are all those photographs on the side, or text on some pieces, but just looking at face value standing there, you don’t see it. Look closer, look deeper.”

As Priest continues to live and experience her life fully, she knows that her art will continuously evolve. “My experiences, the things I’m learning–there is always something new. So, it only stands to reason that I would keep adding new things to the work that I’m doing.” In the future, Priest hopes to create pieces highlighting Louisville’s landscapes, like artwork that introduces visitors to Louisville housed in the airport, as well as more work focused on the many countries on the continent of Africa. Furthermore, she and her husband Mark Priest are working on opening an Underground Railroad Museum in the west end of Louisville that will display the works of Mark Priest series on Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Charles Nalle, the family of William Still and others who strove to attain freedom through traveling on the Underground Railroad. 

Visit the I Am We exhibition at KMAC this summer through August 17th, and find Priest’s website at www.layeredimages.com.