Mixed Media

ሽፍታ (Shifta) : Gaarii bira aariitu jira (Where there is pleasure, there is anger, grief )“

2024

82 x 84 inches

Malian tie dye, Bogolan, acrylic paint, beads

Will you cross over with me?

Grown from the depths of a darkened inferno

Scathed by tangled roots

A boondocks spirit compares to no earthly shame

shaded sleep as deep as the brown of my eyes

wakened by realms of love n truth that sit, waiting in the belly of the crescent moon

Will you cross over with me?

through the Odaa tree, past her branches

by the sea set on fire

What is the meaning of the cross in spite of, in regard to, and without religion ?

Transcendence.

Mixed media, acrylic paint

2024

16 x 32 inches

This on going study uncovers the personal and collective symbolisms of religious, cultural, and mythological iconographies within the Ethiopian and Malian regions and throughout the diaspora.

Warqeen of harkaa qaban (the gold in hand)

2022

Acrylic on unstretched canvas, beads, handspun cotton, habesha kemise, glitter

78 x 42 inches

Warqeen of harkaa qaban (the gold in hand), the first painting in ከንፈር ቀይ ሴቶች The Red Lipped Women series, depicts the story of the women who raised me acknowledging their migration from Ethiopia to Europe before settling in the DMV. Pulled from family archives, most photos present the women wearing red lipstick, an iconic choice of makeup that aligns with the zeitgeist of the 80s-90s.

This ongoing interactive painting series includes videography and soundscapes that give way to memory, movement, and the toils of migration. Clarity, nostalgia, and homecoming can be discovered through nurturing the inner child.

Little G*rl Blue pt. 2
Don’t Smoke in Bed

Part of The Truth Behind My Eyes series and Stream of Consciousness sub series.

2023

Acrylic paint, hand sewn Ankara print chiffon, micro-plush fleece, Kanekalon braiding hair from Apollo Beauty Land

38 x 72 inches