Dorsey, Najee, (Passing Through)

"Passing Through"  by Najee Dorsey 18 x 30 inches, photomontage on premium archival paper, limited edition of 16, (2026) - unframed Artist Bio Najee Dorsey is an artist whose practice embraces the enduring rhythms of Black Southern life. Hailing from Blytheville, Arkansas, Dorsey’s practice is rooted in photomontage, mixed media, and layered visual storytelling. Working across photographic elements, found textures, digital collage, painting, and assemblage, Dorsey builds richly constructed images that move between personal history and collective memory. His work explores Black resistance, Southern memory, migration, music, and ancestral presence through visual worlds shaped by juke joints, lived interiors, cotton fields, and crossroads. Dorsey’s photomontage works extend this practice through a deliberate process of visual construction. Rather than reproducing a painting or presenting a single photograph, each image is built from layered fragments that are repositioned, scaled, and integrated until they form a unified composition. The completed work does not exist before this process begins; it emerges through assembly, revision, and resolution as an original image conceived specifically for the printed form. In this way, Dorsey approaches photomontage in conversation with the traditions of fine art printmaking. Much like a printmaker develops a plate, stone, or screen as the source for an edition, he builds a visual matrix through a digital layered construction. The editioned print becomes the primary expression of the artwork, carrying forward his commitment to memory, materiality, cultural storytelling, and the preservation of Black Southern life. About the Photomontage Works Najee Dorsey’s photomontage works are original fine art prints created through a deliberate process of visual construction. Each composition is assembled from layered photographic elements, textures, and symbolic references to form a unified image that does not exist in reality prior to its creation. These works are not reproductions of paintings or single photographs. There is no preexisting artwork being duplicated. The image is conceived, constructed, and resolved specifically for editioned print production. Much like a traditional printmaker develops a plate, stone, or screen as a matrix for an edition, Dorsey builds a visual matrix through layered assembly. The edition is the original and intended form of the artwork — not secondary to another medium, but the primary expression of the idea. Each work is produced in a controlled, limited edition and signed by the artist. Collector FAQ Section Are these works reproductions? No. These are original fine art prints. The image does not exist before the edition is created. There is no painting or single photograph being copied. The print is the original artwork. Is this photography? While photographic elements may be incorporated, the final composition is constructed through layering, repositioning, scaling, and integration of multiple sources. The process aligns more closely with fine art printmaking than traditional photography. What makes this different from a giclée reproduction? A reproduction duplicates an artwork that already exists in another form. Dorsey’s photomontage works are conceived specifically for print. The edition is the first and only intended form of the artwork, produced in a limited, controlled run. Are the works limited edition? Yes. Each composition is released in a signed, limited edition. Once the edition including proofs (A.P) sells out, no additional prints of that image are produced. How should collectors categorize these works? These works fall within the lineage of contemporary fine art printmaking. The process is rooted in image construction and matrix development, aligning conceptually with lithography, screenprint, and other traditional print disciplines.   As editions sell through and availability decreases, prices increase accordingly.