Return and Get It

Return and Get It, named for the English translation of the Akan concept of Sankofa, is a graphic exploration of some of the many ways in which the peoples of West Africa and the African Diaspora have preserved elements of their mother cultures through innovation, production, and expression. The series takes observers on a visual journey through time, from indigenous facets to transformations resulting from European colonization and trans-Atlantic slave trade to modern-day efforts to reclaim and reimagine the work of ancestors.

As history builds on history, the artist has chosen to create in the form of digital collage. In layering AI generated images, she represents the cultural adaptation that is integral to Black Identities and crucial to the Human Experience. Linocut is superimposed upon photography upon illustration upon painting with varying opacity, This approach results in works which reflect the complexity of their subjects. It is the artist’s hope that the series portrays Afro-descended people in all of their dignity, color, and beauty as they return and get it.