Born and raised on Chicago’s Southside, Kayla Mahaffey grew up learning to appreciate the charm and soul of her city. The world around her showed how beauty still coexists between the grittiness of our society and how the line between whimsy and reality blurs from time to time. Occasionally taking inspiration from media and adding two-dimensional or abstract elements, her colorful paintings contain hints of whimsy and realism that tell a story of identity, nostalgia, and social topics that sometimes go unheard.