About

Artist Statement

I’m Tahira, founder of YSDNDYart (Your Skin Does Not Define You), a London-based art practice that reimagines contemporary portraiture to celebrate Black heritage, identity, and our shared humanity.

My work replaces natural skin tones with vibrant, expressive colour to challenge stereotypes, question social constructs, and invite viewers into a realm where identity transcends pigmentation. By removing realistic pigmentation, my portraits resist racial categorisation and instead emphasise emotional presence, individuality, and connection.

Working primarily with oil pastels, I use colour as an emotional language, shifting it away from describing physical appearance and toward expressing inner states and feelings. I choose colours intuitively, guided by impulse rather than overthinking, and only later reflect on the symbolism of the colour that stands out to me - which often mirrors my emotional state or circumstances at the time. My practice began as a celebration of Blackness, centring Black subjects as a form of empowerment and visibility. Over time, it has expanded to include people of all backgrounds, reflecting my belief that diversity is not only to be seen, but actively celebrated.

Through expressive colour and portraiture, my work explores our shared humanity -inviting viewers to connect emotionally, reflect inwardly, and recognise themselves in the work regardless of background.

My portraits remove hierarchies often shaped by race, skin colour, and social perception. Whether viewed individually or together, race is not always immediately legible, allowing viewers to encounter each subject as a person first rather than as a racial category. By removing natural skin tones, I invite viewers to connect initially with colour, gaze, and emotional presence - noticing qualities such as softness, strength, calm, or intensity before forming assumptions about identity. This shift encourages reflection on how deeply skin colour influences perception, while creating space for connection that prioritises individuality and our shared humanity.

Artist Bio

Tahira is a self-taught London-based contemporary portrait artist working under the name YSDNDYart (Your Skin Does Not Define You). Her practice explores identity, emotion, and representation through vibrant and expressive colour.

Working primarily with oil pastels, Tahira replaces natural skin tones with colour that reflects emotional states rather than physical appearance. Her work invites viewers to engage with subjects as individuals first, emphasising presence, gaze, and shared humanity over categorisation.

Her work has been featured in Afropean Magazine, Fab UK Magazine, and Made by Tottenham, and is currently exhibited at The Trampery.