As a Haitian immigrant or “refugee”, as I was sometimes referred to while growing up in Brooklyn during the 1980s, it was difficult to maintain explicit social and cultural ties to more than one place at a time. This created a constant struggle with identity and acceptance. My body of work is an attempt to dig deeper into the construct of my Identity as a native Haitian, juxtaposed with an African American context. Moreover despite my Haitian Nationality I am often confronted and subjugated to harsh scrutiny, solely based on complexion.
Too often, projection is replaced by perception, and I am quickly labeled as other, in a way that polarizes my image while marginalizing its core value. My objective is to create a platform for meaningful discourse in hopes of fostering a state of collectivity.
Francks F. Deceus was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, moving to NY when he was nine years old, where he has been living and creating ever since. Throughout his career, Francks has developed a unique modernist style where figures distilled to their pure features are layered in an abstract world that is evocative of our modern society.His work relates to artists like Norman Lewis and Howarddena Pindell in the use of unconventional texture and rich color and how it focuses on African American urban life and his community's struggles. His most recent series, Mumbo Jumbo, focuses on men wrestling with an adverse urban environment. It has been inspired by the same-titled Ishmael Reed's book focused on the complexities of the African American experience.