Sacred Waters 2: When They Took Us

This is the first piece in a series of works exploring spiritual African and African-American music. Inspired by lullabies I sing rocking my child to sleep, I became interested in the deep rich music from the era of "Negro Spirituals," I came to know through celebration by my mother and grandparents. In researching the genre and exploring it's indelible connection with slavery and "praise houses" Africans created to observe their spiritual practices, I was inspired to create a piece that refers to the earlier historical moment of when those Africans were separated from their homes.

This piece was compiled using cowrie shells, distinctly African, and images of an etching I created a few years ago, as well as paint. The "wave" of paint for me feels like the engulfing of the figure who represents the descendants who would be ripped from the African shores. Like the original "Sacred Waters," this piece refers to the middle passage.

Each painting in this series is accompanied by a song that served as a muse for me during their creation, and deepens the dimension of the experience of each piece. This piece is meant to be viewed together with the song “Dialiya” by Diabel Cissokho. 

Listen here: https://youtu.be/hMELktXpN5I?si=_Q1BWQ5RLUhFaTi0

This piece is available for sale. To learn more about it, click here: