The Refracted Saints
The refracted series reflects the experience of black womxn in America. The saints are "refracted" or fragmented to represent the way Black womxn are seen through a societal lens, as bent, broken, distorted. This draws a parallel to how light refracts around an object as it moves through water.
The saints envision the differences between how Black womxn view themselves and the ways others see them. The works depict female figures body as a “whole saint” adorned with only a halo. They are set against a vibrant, at times gilded backgrounds, They occupy space with her refracted reflections. “
As we pass through an intolerant society, our image is distorted, our light and our sainthood refracted – but we are somehow still whole,”
“Real saints are not gilded, they are pained, flawed, and beautiful people.”
In the Press
The Henry Art Museum
The Stranger, "The Henry's Latest Exhibition Brings Art to the Sides of Buses"
University of Washington Daily