Welcome to the Bunker Questionnaire, a new series in which we ask Bunker Projects residents and exhibiting artists three questions from Marcel Proust’s famous Proust Questionnaire, a survey that purported to reveal a person’s true nature. We hope their answers and the accompanying photos allow you to get to know them and their work a little bit more.
Kaylani Brown (they/them) is a Black Nuyorican mixed-media artist, storyteller, and night sky enthusiast based in Pittsburgh. In 2021, they graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in General Fine Arts. Informed by the images of their Catholic upbringing, Brown’s work is littered with stars and mysticism. Their work explores what connective possibilities can transform people into heavenly bodies, and thus become more human. Emulating the warmth of a journal entry and the playful drawings they made as a child, Brown reimagines cosmologies on paper and in panels.
Describe yourself in three words.
“Witty, curious, sleepy.”
Who are your favorite artists/the ones who’ve influenced you most?
“The artists who changed my perspective about image making are Brianna Rose Brooks and Lisa Yuskavage. I discovered Brooks on Instagram in 2019. Their work inspired me to bend rules with drawing anatomy and post more intimate sketchbook spreads online. I unexpectedly saw Yuskavage’s show at the BMA in 2021, after passing through the Tschabalala Self show I initally came for. Enamored by her wonderlands, I wanted to paint for the first time since the pandemic began.”
What is your idea of happiness?
“Feeling that I have all the time I need.”
Photography by Anna Brewer Productions
If you’d like to support Bunker Projects’ mission to provide a safe, equitable space for emerging artists to develop their practice and create new works for exhibition, please consider joining our Bunker Commons program or making a one-time or recurring donation here. We are so grateful for your generosity.
