BEHOLDER
Syd Bell, Demeree Douglas, Clymenza Hawkins, Ebony B. Mckelvey, and Alexandria Robin
On View: July 10 - October 2, 2025 | Orchid Gallery, 496 Newhall Street, Hamden, CT, 06517
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 10, 2025 | 6pm - 8pm | RSVP HERE
Beholder showcases artworks that reveal the subjective yet interwoven nature of art, beauty, and Black womanhood, expanding the narrow stereotypes that bind the three.
meet the artists
Demeree Douglas
Demeree, artistically known as D. Douglas, is a Jamaican-American mixed media artist born and raised in Connecticut. Graduating from Temple University with a Bachelor’s in Studio Art, Douglas wanted to find a unique way to make a breakthrough into the art industry. Years later in 2016, Douglas’s own personal natural hair journey became the inspirational stepping stone she was looking for. Douglas’s collection of work explores women of color who are a part of the Natural Hair Movement, a movement that encourages men and women of African descent to embrace their natural hair texture. As such, a common theme you’ll see in her work is a reflection of herself–a Black woman daring to “normalize” Black hair by embracing her own natural curls. She often incorporates various textures such as flowers and glitter to globally represent the beauty of Black hair. Douglas uses her paintings as a voice for the silenced woman who may feel pressure to straighten her hair and hide her heritage to satisfy society’s standards. Although Douglas’s work centers around natural hair, you will find many different hairstyles that are exclusive to her culture and community: faux locs, braids, flat twists, and ninja buns for example. Her pieces often include abstract elements to represent the numerous interpretations behind not only Black hair and Black art, but the Black woman herself.
Clymenza Hawkins
A native of New Britain, Connecticut, Clymenza Hawkins is a self-taught artist perhaps best known for her collages and photomontages of beautiful, Black women. She photographs Black women, clips their images from magazines, and fuses both to produce powerful, reimagined portraits of what she terms, “WomenFolk, visionaries of their own destinies.” Adorned with fairy-like accents, and enshrouded by folkloric imagery, Hawkins’s portraits radiate the wisdom, grace and pride of Black women, illuminating their spiritual paths into the unknown. The recurring motif of butterfly wings in her works speaks to, “the metamorphosis within the realm of a woman’s soul,” empowering us to read the full depth, nuance, and complexity of the unrivaled beauty that is Black womanhood. Her visual narratives are inspired by actress Shelly DuValle’s Fairy Tales Theater, literary writers including, Zora Neale Hurston, Angela Carter, James Baldwin, Rita Dove, Oscar Wilde, Toni Cade Bambara, Eduardo Galeano, Jean Toomer, Ruth Forman, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Jack Zipes and Octavia Butler.
Alexzandria Robin
Alexzandria Robin creates sculptural ball-jointed dolls that explore the human form through a blend of technology, tradition, and imagination. Her work, known as the *Nebulon* series, is deeply inspired by the interplay between the earthly and the cosmic. Each piece represents an otherworldly being that carries profoundly human stories—stories of identity, transformation, and self-discovery. By crafting figures with richly hued skin tones, intricate facial features, and textured hair, she seeks to honor the beauty of diverse bodies and encourage viewers to see humanity reflected in every curve and contour. Each doll begins as a digital concept, sculpted and refined in a 3D modeling program with meticulous attention to joints, proportions, and details. The faces—some repeated in different colors—serve as experiments in expression, tone, and finish. Fascinated by technology’s potential to bring fluid, surreal forms to life, she designs each piece before casting them in resin, carefully sanding and assembling the components to ensure smooth articulation. This technical process is both meditative and meticulous, reinforcing craftsmanship as an essential aspect of her practice. Beyond sculpting, she dedicates special attention to surface treatments and finishing. Many of her figures feature shimmering or metallic pigments that hint at their cosmic origins, while others have matte finishes that accentuate their human-like warmth. The hair—often styled in Afros or voluminous curls—celebrates natural textures, underscoring the idea that beauty transcends any single cultural standard. Each doll is dressed in handmade garments and accessories crafted from materials like yarn, fabric, or lace, softening the futuristic aesthetic and grounding the figures in a tactile, intimate reality. Conceptually, the *Nebulon* series examines identity as both personal and universal. By merging futuristic aesthetics with deeply human faces and bodies, she invites viewers to consider themselves as cosmic travelers—made of stardust yet shaped by individual experiences on Earth. Each doll stands as a testament to resilience and transformation. The ball-jointed mechanism itself symbolizes adaptability: the ability to bend, pivot, and re-form in response to life’s shifting circumstances. Robin believes that dolls—often confined to the realm of childhood play—can serve as powerful vehicles for storytelling and self-expression. When viewers engage with these figures, they confront their own reflections: the complexity of being human, the tension between vulnerability and strength, and the universal longing to be seen and understood.
Ebony B. Mckelvey
Through her lens, Ebony B. Mckelvey tells the stories of Black women—their strength, beauty, and resilience. Her work is deeply personal, inspired by the powerful women in her life and the neighborhoods that shaped her. Growing up, she witnessed how society often overlooked or misrepresented, “our beauty, our struggles, and our triumphs.” With each image, she aims to rewrite that narrative. She creates portraits that empower women of color, celebrating their authenticity and redefining traditional beauty standards. Her photography is a tribute to the rich culture and spirit of Black women, capturing their essence in a way that uplifts and inspires. She also finds beauty in the everyday—transforming familiar spaces from her childhood into visual love letters, showcasing her community in a new and powerful light. Every portrait is a statement of pride, strength, and self-love. Her mission is simple: “to create images that honor our stories and remind Black women of the undeniable power they hold.”
Sydney Bell
Sydney Bell is a visual artist from New Haven, Connecticut who has been practicing art for over 15 years. A graduate of Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School, Bell benefitted from the school's arts-based curriculum, and remains committed to taking her artistic expression to new heights. For Bell, art has always been a deep source of inspiration and vehicle for self-expression; it has been a creative outlet to both imagine infinite futures and also escape the present moment. Bell states, “Through my creative process, I was also allowed to find my identity and gain a stronger sense of self, building the strength and confidence to embrace my artistry as a way to support myself full-time. My largest drive to continue to create is how subjective art is. All art is beautiful. Even if it’s not. There is no right or wrong, there is no ‘Higher Eye’. The Highest Eye is your own. I let my work speak. I let my work heal. I let my work answer all questions that I am unable to answer. And sometimes the final answer is unknown. But that is something we can sit with when it comes to art, because art is subjective.”