Statement
I find myself in a state of tension-ridden nostalgia for the place where I played part-time parent to my siblings, felt emotional neglect coupled with religion-induced self-doubt. This is the same place where I picked wild blackberries, ate lunch in fellowship with the congregation, and learned how to drive in a pickup truck. These perspectives exist in my work to reconcile with myself what I and many other rural individuals have lived through to build bridges of humanity, familiarity, and connection within the American Southeast.
To this day, I cannot find myself wholly represented in the visual arts, and I wonder how my growth as an artist might have improved if I had seen a reflection of myself. By working in the cornerstone historical art forms of Southern artwork like photography, printmaking, and embroidery, I facilitate representation and open a window into unseen identities in rural, low-income, Southern communities by referencing my own experiences from Northwest Florida.
Bio
Brittani Brown is an artist raised in Mossy Head, FL and based in Orlando, FL. She received her B.F.A. in Studio Art in 2021 and is in the process of obtaining her M.F.A. in Emerging Media: Studio Art and Design in 2025 – both from the University of Central Florida. Her work studies her own reaction to poignant events of her childhood and encourages learning and understanding primarily using embroidery, printmaking, and photography. Brittani has participated in several group art exhibitions including Fresh Squeezed 8: Emerging Artists in Florida, Orlando Film Photography Association’s annual Film Photography Exhibition, and the Juried Graduate Exhibition at the University of Mississippi.