FINE

For the month of April, the Harrison Gallery will be exhibiting Tashema Davis’s oil and acrylic self-portraits. FINE is a brave body of work that stems from Davis’s journey toward addressing her mental health.

Davis has been saying she’s fine for the last three years. In the winter of 2023, she was diagnosed with PTSD, depression, and anxiety from her time serving in the military. While Davis has always been an artist and has had a strong voice in her work for years, in FINE, she is digging deeper and using her art-making practice to explore new territory in herself and her work.

Symbolism plays an important role in Davis’s work. Two prominent ones in this body of work are smiley face balloons and goldfish, which explore Davis’s relationship with joy during this season of her life.

“It’s hard for me to express joy. For quite some time, I’ve been forcing myself,” says Davis. “With these smiley face balloons, it’s not me lying, but trying to get to where I can express pure joy or happiness.” Davis expresses that sometimes it feels as if she is hiding behind the joy others think she should have.

As Davis let her spontaneous art-making process lead her, goldfish began appearing in her work. “I noticed they popped up in my work years ago and felt like it needed a meaning. I didn’t force it to mean anything, but afterwards, I tried to figure it out. I found that in some cultures, they represent prosperity, but for me, it’s a symbol of hope. It’s a sign that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” Davis jokes that goldfish have the best life because they only have a 10-second memory, meaning they can forget that they live in a fishbowl.

Davis wants others to know that making this work is about her journey, not an end result: “I’m not presenting as someone who is well yet.” The paintings are a part of the ongoing process of Davis’s internal healing.

The show can be viewed anytime during the month of April in the Harrison Gallery during Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The works can also be viewed and purchased on our online gallery through May.