the IDENTITY series
a message from the artist
With my IDENTITY series, I aim to capture humanity’s expansive inner struggles through my lens of Queer Black Womanhood. I use fractured images of the human form to illustrate loss, overwhelm, and expansion in the subject’s emotional world. Guided by the belief that expression leads to understanding, and understanding leads to fulfilled hope, I work to create vibrant depictions that inspire vicarious comfort within the viewer.
the heretic, 2025
Haven Sydney Denson
Oil pastel on pastel paper, 11 x 14 in
about the piece:
i have clung to The Lord so tightly that the nails of my clasped hands have pierced my skin.
i have uttered each prayer,
mastered and memorized each word,
chanting, entranced,
until the beads bruised my fingertips.
i have been blinded by the beautiful potential for destruction and damnation.
i have risked my sanity in pursuit of The Truth.
i have sliced open my flesh, swallowed my own blood, and felt words of praise upon my shoulders.
then, i loosened my grip, lifted my eyes to the heavens, and you called me a heretic.
This work is currently on display in-person at the Chicago Fine Art Salon’s “Figures” gallery.
mute(d), 2025
Haven Sydney Denson
Oil pastel on pastel paper, 11 x 14 in
about the piece:
to perform femininity correctly, one must be seen but not heard. one must wear heels, but must not loudly announce one’s arrival - surgically separating our impeccable appearance from any autonomous actions. as we walk up the stairs, we shall take every step as an opportunity to be mute(d), stepping gingerly with the soles of our shoes and letting our heels float behind us. we timidly ascend, risking a stumble, a fall, or a break, all to be viewed as Pretty rather than Loud.
This work is currently on display online in the Chicago Fine Art Salon’s “Figures” gallery.
the overflow, 2025
Haven Sydney Denson
Oil pastel on pastel paper, 11 x 14 in
about the piece:
“the overflow” depicts a moment of emotional turmoil. in the midst of overwhelm, one is faced with a choice: to catch and hold the emotion as it washes over you, or to shrink away and shake off each drop of pain. as grief turns to anger, the realization that there is no escape hits like a wave.
This work is currently on display online in the Chicago Fine Art Salon’s “Figures” gallery.