The portrayal of identity is vital to a healthy society, and with multi-media artist Tatum Anouk Sabin’s exhibition at SOPAC, Black culture and identity are vibrantly on display during Black History Month through the beginning of Women’s History Month.
A Columbia High School graduate and Howard University senior, Sabin spent the last two years on the works in the exhibition, titled I AM YOU, which is being shown in the Herb + Milly Iris Gallery through March 5, 2026.
In an interview with the Village Green at the show’s opening on Thursday, Sabin reflected on her upbringing as an artist, recounting the traditional teachings she received. Sabin says that these practices taught were “not bad things, just how to do things traditionally.”
While she partially attributes her capabilities to those lessons, she also draws on the subconscious impact her personal identity as an African-American, Caribbean-American and a woman has on her art. Sabin says that her cultural identity has always been something that has been “encouraged for me to not only talk about, but express.” This encompasses everything, from “food through the way I dress, my hair, my art.”
Tatum Sabin at the opening of her solo exhibition, I AM YOU, at the Herb + Milly Iris Gallery at SOPAC. (Photo by Willem Pohl)
Beyond the cultural aspect of her identity, Sabin’s personal values impact the medium in which she works. Describing herself as a “recycler,” Sabin’s pieces contain everyday objects, such as pencils and paintbrushes.
“It’s hard for me to see a broken pencil or whatever and not put it into something, but to throw it out,” she said.
Tatum also discussed lifestyle choices she has made, such as “practicing sustainability and recycling,” and the influence it plays in her artistic process.
“One person may throw an item out, but maybe I can use it in a piece, and that’s what makes it something that’s great,” she said, adding that this artistic choice creates distinguishable qualities in her work, reflecting her personal identity through expression.
Sabin’s work has been exhibited in New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C., as well in Sint Maarten and the Netherlands. Over a span of two and a half years, Sabin said, she has come into her own and fully embraced her creative side as an artist, as is evident in her work. This strength she has as an artist today is a result of her dedication and repetition in mastering her craft. Tatum cites her growth as an artist as a result of “getting more free” and not being afraid to “make a mistake.”
“Perfection is boring,” she said, “and the more I make, the more I am letting go.”
Tatum Sabin explains her work at the opening of I AM You. (Photo by Willem Pohl)
Willem Pohl is an 11th grade student at Columbia High School and is working with Village Green as part of a grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
