"I really wanted to create a body of work that spoke to the agency of the black character. In order to do that, I started to produce more of an escapist strategy in the way that the work was coming to life... [of the use of tiles] The domestic space can often suggest an escapist space because you can produce it and make it into whatever you’d like it to be. There’s often a negative connotation to the word “escapism,” as if you’re not dealing with the realities of our times. But I see it as very optimistic. And I think that kind of optimism becomes infectious." —Rashid Johnson