ARTISTS TO KNOW: AUDREY LYALL
Photography: Nabila Wirakusumah
Creative Direction & Production: Bianca Jean-Pierre & Nabila Wirakusumah
As soon as we arrived at Audrey Lyall’s studio in Brooklyn and she greeted us, her one-of-a kind creative eye could already be captured with her style. She embodies the confidence and vibrant energy of the maximalist subjects found in her artwork.
Audrey uses a variety of materials such as acrylic paint, watercolor, clay, fabric, collaged paper, and more to create maximalist Afro-futurist works. To Audrey, “everything in the world is an art material” as she incorporates eyelash extensions, African hair braiding packaging, wig frontals, press on nails, and even shredded bills no longer in circulation to bring her fantasy worlds to life. With work titles such as Are You Doing Too Much? and What Lace?, Audrey’s work beautifully and honestly explores themes of racial identity, black beauty standards, surveillance, and social anxiety.
Nabila: So tell us more about where you're from and your background.
Audrey: I grew up in Marin County, California, which is basically right across the Golden Gate Bridge. Overall, I had a really nice childhood. A ton of freedom, a ton of nature, and it was a really safe and relaxed area. So in that sense, no major issues but I think that I felt very out of place. My mom is black and my dad is white and it's a predominantly white area. I never thought about it until other kids started bringing it up. In my household, it was not a big deal at all.
Bianca: How did your parents meet?
Audrey: My parents are actually both from the East Coast. My mom is from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and my dad is from Yonkers, New York. Basically, my dad moved to California and he was a hippie back in the day. He was hitchhiking and traveling and ended up in California. My mom moved to California because as a child she had seen pictures of California and was like, I want to move there. So she moved there in her 20s. My parents actually met in a club. Like oh, my God so you can find true love in the club? They’re still together.
Nabila: When did kids start bringing up race?
Audrey: One of my earliest memories is third grade when one of my classmates was like, “Oh, a black person and a white person together? That's weird.” In my head, I was like, oh those are my parents. Like I didn't know that was weird?
There were other mixed-race kids at my school and there were a few black kids, but there just weren't enough for me to feel any type of community. Then as we got into middle school, that's when the actual racist jokes started coming in. I realized this is something that people are going to bring up a lot. I had friends. I had a social life. But I felt out of place. The only way I can describe it is almost disassociating. Like there's another you watching yourself.
Bianca: How did you cope?
Audrey: I really coped through my creativity. My original childhood dream was to be a fashion designer. I would just draw all the time and make prices for the clothes that I was drawing. One of the dresses was priced at like a million dollars haha.
Bianca: Wait same! I used to sew together scraps from old clothes my mom and my grandma didn’t wear anymore and have a little fashion show haha. What kind of clothes were you designing?
Audrey: I love that connection. And it was all types of stuff. Anything from couture gowns to t-shirts. I just love drawing people. I love drawing clothes. I was also really into these websites, with digital paper dolls. There was Stardoll, Polyvore…
Bianca: Yes! I was on Polyvore for hours like they paid me.
Audrey: I had multiple accounts that were different aesthetics. I was super into it. When I look back, I feel like it was my way of creating my own community I didn't see in front of me. It was my escape to just imagine all of these different characters, different clothes, and different hairstyles that I didn't feel like I was seeing.
Nabila: I do feel like the way that you draw your figures reminds me a lot of fashion illustrations and magazine collages.
Audrey: I started college as a fashion major.
“I really coped through my creativity. My original childhood dream was to be a fashion designer. I would just draw all the time and make prices for the clothes that I was drawing. One of the dresses was priced at like a million dollars.”
Bianca: Where'd you go to college?
Audrey: I went to Pratt. Going back to high school, I realized I'm really into art. I was looking into art schools and then actually did a pre-college summer program for high schoolers and came to New York to live on the Pratt campus. I did their very beginner fashion design program and I really liked the experience and the campus. So I applied to Pratt, got in, and then I started as a Fashion Design major.
Bianca: You were having a hard time in school because you felt like an outcast and you were being made fun of. Then you go to New York, which is a vastly different demographic from where you came from, right? Did this open your eyes to a different sense of identity for yourself?
Audrey: When I got to Pratt it wasn’t as diverse as I expected, but at the same time I'm surrounded by artists. Everyone makes art. Everyone's into fashion. Everyone's into music. It was super exciting for me. So I took fashion design for a year and a half, about three semesters, and then I had a total breakdown. I just felt so unfulfilled and making clothes is so hard and I didn't feel good about it afterwards.
I also heard all these stories from my friends that were interning and volunteering at Fashion Week and just being treated so bad. I go to my counselor and I'm like, should I drop out? Should I take a gap year? So my counselor suggested a really tiny major called Critical & Visual Studies. It’s an interdisciplinary program that mixes critical theory, philosophy and fine arts. What I realized in fashion is that I liked drawing more than I liked sewing so that's what propelled me into making art. I took every type of class from printmaking, textiles, film classes, just everything I could take. And then I also took a lot of philosophy classes and Critical Race Theory, which now is this controversial thing, but back then it was very niche and the way I was exposed to it is very different from how it's been described now.
My main takeaway was that I now had historical and societal context for my own life experiences. I also took gender studies. These classes really opened me up to psychoanalyzing myself, my own experiences, and my upbringing. Just really becoming comfortable in myself and being proud because I think growing up I felt really embarrassed to be black, because I was made fun of for it. But through that education, I was like, oh, I'm so lucky to be black.
Nabila: You said that when you first got to Pratt, you didn't have the language of awareness to seek out a black community for yourself yet. Do you feel like after that class, that was starting to become something you were looking for?
Audrey: It wasn't a conscious decision. I just started to gravitate towards different people. It's not so much about not wanting to be around any white people. I wanted to be in spaces where there are different types of people. Just more diverse. Moving to New York was refreshing because I didn't stand out.
Nabila: I always thought everyone who was vaguely weird in high school came to New York.
Bianca: Yeah I feel like New York gives you the freedom to explore independently, versus where you grew up and a lot of similar neighborhoods, there are a lot of people projecting onto you.
Audrey: Where I grew up, individuality was not celebrated. Everyone wanted to dress the same, look the same. Even just having curly hair, I hated it so much because everyone had straight hair. Even the white girls with curly hair would straighten their hair. Once you're out of a homogenous environment, it's so freeing because there's no pressure to look like anyone at all. That's something that really changed my sense of self.
Bianca: And your sense of style too, because you have a very unique and fun sense of style. Have you always been that way?
Audrey: Yes, I’ve always had a unique sense of style. I had this signature look when I was three years old. I'd wear a floral dress and I had a little fro so I’d put a towel on my head as if it was hair. And I had a plastic gladiator costume hat that I would then put on top. And that was my little look. I remember in elementary school I'd wear two different Converse shoes. I loved to go shopping. I loved Limited Too and I was fashion obsessed.
Bianca: Limited Too was that girl.
Audrey: They need to bring back Limited Too but for adults. But yeah, I always felt like I had a unique sense of style and I don’t know where that stems from but I think I was just born that way.
Nabila: I’m Indonesian but grew up in Thailand and Hong Kong and everyone was like she's already different, so I was like okay, well I'm gonna dress how I want.
Audrey: By the time I got to high school, that's when I really went full throttle with my fashion and actually got Best Dressed senior year. I feel like my mindset was similar to what you just said. You know what, I'm never gonna be accepted by these people. I'm never gonna look like these people. I'm never gonna fit in. So I might as well just serve a look everyday. I was known for my outfits. No one else dressed like me.
Nabila: Thinking about your style and your work, in your bio you describe your work as maximalist and Afrofuturistic. What made you gravitate towards those aesthetics?
Audrey: I've always been the more color the better, more texture, the better. A big turning point for me was in a printmaking class and I made a series of works that were really crazy. Our first assignment was rubbing, where you put a piece of paper on a surface, rub it with a crayon and then it transfers the texture over. I did a hybrid of rubbing and also watercolor paint and illustrations all mixed together. The TA of the class was like, “Your work is so overworked. You don't know when to stop.” And I looked at her and said, “Oh, that's the response that I was looking for. Thank you.” From that point on I was like I'm always gonna do too much. I'm always gonna do the most.
Bianca: You’re going to be one of our exhibiting artists at the upcoming Affordable Art Fair in NYC and one of your pieces we’ll have on display is called Are You Doing Too Much?
Audrey: Yeah. Funny enough, that text on the piece is actually from a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet.
I was working a retail job at the time and a group of Jehovah's Witnesses came in and handed me that pamphlet. I started laughing because in our generation, the slang is, “Oh, you're doing too much!” But the reason the Jehovah’s Witness group posed that question was more like, “Are you stressed? Are you taking on too much in your life?” Then when you open the pamphlet, “here's how Jesus can alleviate your stress.”
I thought it was funny so I saved it. I was like, I have to use this in a piece. It not only ended up being the title of that painting, but also the title of my solo exhibition at Hausen in Brooklyn in 2022.
Nabila: So going back to that connection between maximalism and Afrofuturism…
Audrey: I think what drew me to maximalism was a class about postmodernism. I didn't know what that meant at the time but we learned a lot about maximalism as a movement in juxtaposition to minimalism and I was like, I know I'm not a minimalist. That's not my vibe at all.
Nabila: It’s kind of oppressive.
Audrey: Yeah, exactly. And I love the vastness of maximalism. And with Afrofuturism, I was drawn to it because a lot of my figures toe the line between human and alien, and there’s a mystical element to them. I mix a lot of different colors within the skin tones because I want everyone to be able to look at my work and feel connected. And now I just feel like I keep doing more and more and adding different collage elements and exploring different materials. I just keep pushing it further.
“The TA of the class was like, “Your work is so overworked. You don’t know when to stop.” And I looked at her and said, “Oh, that’s the response that I was looking for. Thank you.” From that point on I was like I’m always gonna do too much. I’m always gonna do the most.”
Nabila: You use packaging from braiding hair and we saw acrylic nails and eyelashes in your work? How do you decide if something is worth saving and archiving vs. throwing away?
Audrey: That's a good question because I’m a bit of a hoarder. I've always kept stuff like trinkets and it's hard for me to get rid of stuff. I think I got to a point where I could just use these little things I have and give them new life. To me, nothing is trash. I've had wigs that I’ve worn that I cut up in collages, to paintings, and I actually really like how the dried wig glue looks on the piece. So usually how the process goes is I’ll either look through a magazine, or gather packaging of whatever sticks out to me. I'll cut it out immediately and save it. Then I’ll use that as the starting point for the work and then build around that.
Bianca: We talked about your curly hair and how people made fun of you for that. And there have been a lot of conversations around the politics of black hair, like The Crown Act recently passed in some states making it illegal to discriminate against hairstyles, like afros, locs, braids, etc. So you went from being in an environment where you were being made fun of for your curly hair to leaning in fully into braids and hairstyles that are rooted in African heritage and black culture. How did you make that transition into braiding your hair more and then actually putting that into your art? I've never really seen an artist use actual braiding hair packaging in their art. It's such a familiar thing for anyone who's grown up going to the braiding salons as a kid and is such an iconic part of our upbringing.
Audrey: Although I was very embarrassed of my hair growing up, I didn't really have many alternatives because my hair never really looked good when I straightened it. So I was like well, I guess I can’t straighten my hair everyday and braids weren’t really an option at that point in my life because there were no braiding salons in my area. I actually did my own braids the first time I ever had box braids. It took me two days and it was such a laborious process, but exciting and opened up so many possibilities for me. Growing up I used to feel like I didn't have any options with my hair and then I realized I have so many options. I have more options than anyone in the world. I can do anything with my hair.
Then at one point in college I shaved my head. My hair went from being a big insecurity to me starting to get a lot of attention for my hair. It became the only thing that made me feel beautiful and so I decided to shave my head because I didn’t want to depend on my hair anymore. I wanted to learn to accept my face, and my body and really accept what I look like, instead of hiding behind my big curly hair. I just didn't feel comfortable being that person.
So I shaved my head, then dyed it pink, then let it grow out and went back to braids and twists. Then years later I started getting into wigs. The rise of the lace front has been life changing and so fun haha.
Bianca: Which brings me to another one of your pieces titled What Lace? Like you put an actual piece of lace in the artwork as a window.
Nabila: Yeah, you can't see anything past it and it's normally meant to be hidden.
Bianca: Exactly. Making it transparent.
Audrey: I don't even remember exactly what sparked me to do that. I just saw in the beauty supply that they sell lace for people who make wigs and they sell it almost like fabric. I was like, oh, that's really cool. I can use that in my art. Then I started taking old wigs and cutting the frontal part out and gluing that into the work. It’s hard for me to really trace how I came to these ideas. It’s just a feeling. To me, everything in the world is an art material. There's no difference between an art supply and any other thing in the world. There are so many artists that utilize found objects and I have to give homage to all the artists who have done that and are still doing that. I've just done it in a way that's extremely specific to me.
Bianca: I'd love to explore the sustainability aspect of your work. Even you saying how much the braiding process can be wasteful, which is something I didn't really think about. After getting your hair braided you’re picking up all of that packaging and throwing it in the trash.
Audrey: I would do my own hair and just look, like you said, at everything on the floor and all of that cardboard packaging and plastic packaging. I was like what if I saved them and used them in my artwork. I also want to partner with braiding salons and literally take their trash for them because think about how many packages they're throwing away everyday.
Bianca: We talked about your relationship with your identity and beauty standards for black women. You're using objects like acrylic nails, lashes, hair, and more in your work. But then you also talk about anxiety and surveillance. Which is going more inward.
Audrey: What I mean by that is because I dress in such a unique way, it feels almost like I want attention. But once I get the attention, I hate when people stare at me. I hate when people look at me. I hate when people ask me too many questions about what I got going on. It makes me really nervous. I've talked about this in an artist talk before and everyone was in agreement. So I guess it's a universal feeling.
When I say surveillance, I'm thinking a lot about social media in contrast to how I grew up on celebrity culture and pop culture like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Back then, paparazzi was this big thing and celebrities would leave their car, and it's like flash flash flash. Whereas now we leave our house and we're like, okay, I have to make an Instagram post. So we're like surveilling ourselves.
For me, what I'm thinking about is this push and pull of wanting to present yourself a certain way and wanting to be perceived a certain way. But then when you start getting that attention, you're like, please don't look at me.
“I started taking old wigs and cutting the frontal part out and gluing that into the work. It’s hard for me to really trace how I came to these ideas. It’s just a feeling. To me, everything in the world is an art material.”
Bianca: I feel like now we straddle experiencing and performing because before, like you said, you step outside of your home and you were just experiencing life. What gives me a lot of anxiety is the idea of having to perform my life. In your own experiences, especially as an artist, a lot of your success and how you create needs to be documented versus you just doing it. How have you been navigating that?
Audrey: I think that obviously there are a lot of problems with social media and it can really ruin not only your self esteem in your personal life, but also your process as an artist because you're so rushed to release and show work. But on the flip side, I'm honestly very grateful for social media because I literally would not have gotten any opportunities if it wasn't for Instagram. Everyone who emails me tells me they found me on Instagram.
I don't know how they did it back in the day. I guess you just had to see the work in person and find someone's phone number or through word of mouth. But in this day and age, the only way people are going to be able to give you opportunities is by seeing your work online and I know a lot of people resent that. It's kind of unfair, because not everyone even wants to be on social media and they shouldn't have to be, but I think for me personally, what I've learned is to just detach. I remind myself that this is a curated profile. Yes, it's me in the sense that it's my outfits and my art which is literally me. But I'm also like “these people don't know me.”
Bianca: It also doesn’t feel very social anymore. Nabila calls it “Creative LinkedIn” haha.
Audrey: Yeah. People don't even ask for my website anymore. They ask for Insta.
I know artists that don't even have a website. Because they don't need it. Why pay for a domain?
It’s weird, though with social media. There are a lot of ways you could read into this. I've had people say to me, “Oh, my God, you're so nice and silly in person. I thought you were gonna be more standoffish based on your Instagram.” I’m like that's not me…
Nabila: There are people chronically online where they think they know you because they have your IG.
Audrey: I'm super meticulous about my Instagram. Yeah, I pick and choose what's going on there. When it's going on there. I'm not always gonna look how I look on Instagram in real life but I'm also like, that's fine. We shouldn't feel this pressure, you know? I hope that people aren’t looking at other people's profiles, like, “Oh, I wish I was like them. I'm jealous.” Like, no, they specifically chose which photos are going up on which day. I've had people say to me “Oh, my God, you've been killing it, you're doing so well. You must be making so much money.” They don’t know that sometimes I feel like a failure. I'm not making loads of money, no way.
Bianca: I think that there’s social media or just having a digital presence on your art in general versus the reality of being an artist and knowing that you actually do have endless possibilities. You have plenty of time to see your art evolve.
Audrey: Exactly. I think that we're living in an era right now where there are a lot of opportunities for young artists, which is amazing. I love the opportunities I've had. I've gotten to travel because of my art and I've met so many amazing people. A ton of my friends are artists, my partner’s an artist, and I love seeing everyone thrive. But I think the downside is giving everyone this pressure of having to be the youngest artist to ever do this specific thing. And we kind of all forgot that being an artist is a lifelong practice. Having a career as an artist is a long game.
Bianca: And there's the contradiction too with success and fame and creative expression because I don't think those were ever meant to coexist, because your creative expression is always going to evolve. Whereas fame is fleeting.
Nabila: In our capitalist society, fame comes from being commodified. Which is really antithetical to the practice of being an artist as a practice and a lifestyle.
Audrey: I've seen people who are making a lot of money off their art, but they're so stressed out. You're working 24/7, no days off. It’s a really intense lifestyle. I think it looks really good online and it looks super luxurious but in real life it’s so stressful. You have all these demands from your galleries and your collectors and what they expect you to make. If you want to make something else it becomes much harder.
Nabila: You said you want to keep producing work and that's essential to being an artist. Are there other things that are grounding you through the process that are essential and giving you peace?
Audrey: I think just staying really true to what I want to make and what I want to see in the world. Sometimes you'll have people come for studio visits and they'll just give you advice. My advice is to know the difference between good advice and not very good advice.
I've had people come in and tell me I need to do more of this and I need to go back to doing this. I'm like, no, that's not what I want to do. I'm not making art for you. I'm making art for myself and ultimately to heal my inner child. Isn't that why we're all making art? We all start out making art as kids and then most people stop. But there are a few of us who don't stop. And I feel like it's because we have this drive to just always tap into that childlike imagination.
It’s really important as an artist to stay true to your vision. Don't ever compromise your vision. If you're working with someone, and they are telling you to do something else that you don't feel right about, don't work with them.
“I think the downside is giving everyone this pressure of having to be the youngest artist to ever do this specific thing. And we kind of all forgot that being an artist is a lifelong practice. Having a career as an artist is a long game. ”
Bianca: You were describing this idea of being controlled by the money and the pressure of fame and success. What is your ideal vision for your career?
Audrey: That’s a beautiful question. I'm still figuring that out. I have so many ideas beyond painting. I definitely want to do more sculptures. I also have this fantasy of having an animated series where it's my art but it's moving and there are characters and their storylines. I'd love to do that. Yeah, more of bringing my art into other realms is really interesting to me. I also really want to go back to making clothes because I really abandoned that. I make clothes for myself sometimes…
Bianca: You painted the top you’re wearing today! That we’ll see in the photos when they drop.
Audrey: Yeah I painted the top in my photo, everyone! Haha. But in terms of career success that’s a harder question. I do know a lot of successful artists, and I see the issues that they have to deal with. I'm like, oh, is that really my dream anymore? We have to rethink what it means to be a “successful” artist.
I want to be a jack of all trades and just do everything and not have any limitations.
Nabila: What I’m hearing is you just want to keep making art.
Bianca: Yeah and just be a real artist and be free.
Audrey: I could sit here and say I want to be in this museum and this institution, which would be amazing of course, but that's not really why I’m making art. The accolades are less important than the feeling of making art itself.
Editor’s Note: Audrey will be one of SHEER’s exhibiting artists at the upcoming Affordable Art Fair in NYC! You can find more information about the fair and secure tickets here.
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Photography by Nabila Wirakusumah
Valerie Blaise, founder of leather accessories brand Vavvoune describes someone who wears her designs as curious, intentional, and knows what they want. We could feel these qualities immediately as we stepped into the Vavvoune studio in DUMBO, Brooklyn.