Narrator: Brianna McCarthy was born in Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean, in 1984.
She was an energetic child and loved to draw.
She looked at how black, West Indian girls and women are seen in art.
She was inspired by magazine covers designed by the famous illustrator Erté.
Brianna loved Erté’s use of bright colours and the way he drew people in his designs. She has always loved drawing people.
Brianna uses a range of colours and patterns in her portraits as she wants to show people are all different.
She builds up the image with layers of fabric, paper, painting and drawing. This is called a collage.
Even though the collages are made from different materials, textures and patterns, they come together to make one beautiful image.
Brianna McCarthy is inspiring people in many different countries to express their own identity and beauty, through art.
In the words of Brianna, we’re all made up of these bits and pieces.
