Phenomenon lll

Phenomenon lll This work is about escaping the conditions of the Black matrix and the systems that attempt to define, contain, and erase us. A mother holds her child while fragments of brick move across their bodies, but the bricks cannot fully enclose them. The child’s face is covered by a white scribble, representing the colonial erasure imposed on the next generation before they have the opportunity to define themselves. The child wears traditional Kente cloth as a form of identity, inheritance, and connection to something that existed before that erasure. The mother’s garment incorporates the American flag as a nod to our ancestors and the complicated relationship between Black existence and America. She holds the child closely, becoming both protection and passage. The bricks suggest structures built around Black life, but their fragmentation becomes important: we cannot be completely contained. The work sits between inheritance and erasure, asking what we carry forward and what we must escape in order to remain ourselves. acrylic skin, fabric, oil pastel, archival wallpaper on canvas 2025 72 x 60 in.