Free (-ing) My Root’s Darron Dashaun Modeste; Written piece to accompany the painting. October 28th, 2024. When I was young I had stealing pockets, accompanied with overgrown fingernails. My shoes were heavy, thoughts tied loose with no book’s to write them down.  No guidelines or supervision, to watch us as we play. It took time as I grew older, to understand what was lost, had to be found. Jewels and riches do not dissolve into decay. Whispered secrets from the shadows, each trinket has a story. Providing contrast from the last to uncover the treasures hidden beneath the grime, finally learning to sift through the rubble of my past - embracing it with glory. With every step, my heavy shoes become lighter, carrying not just weight, but purpose. Fingernails, once a sign of neglect, transformed into a tool. Unravelling the tangled threads of my roots. Finding beauty in the forgotten, searching for scars that mark my skin.  Now, I walk with open pockets, ready to gather the fragments of joy, to fill them with laughter, love, and light. Now I weave my own narrative. A locking, twisting, hope. Forging a future where my roots will flourish, hydrating my spirit, as I stand tall, unapologetically myself. With my mind and body in control.  (Will Include a Hand-Written Verison In Purchase)

Dashaun Modeste

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My name is Darron Dashaun Modeste (b. 2005), I am Trinidadian-Canadian, I am from the east coast of Canada and have travelled by car to Alberta when I was very young. I expirenced a rather unfortunate upbringing up until l was around 13, which led me to become vulnerable and ultimately homeless, in and out of high observation adolescent psychiatric wards, until I was 18-19 years of age. I have been learning to express myself, heritage and cultural identity with my art forms while being homeless, and today even now that I am transitioning to living a normal functional adult lifestyle and future. The journey has just begun, the story I need to share will never be finished.