Art is the contextual image which brings the soul and the spirit together. The eleven images, re-creation/understand? (2003), combine to create a narrative journey linking the past and the present. Drawing upon Yoruba tradition where beads encase the body to heal and protect, the design elements were painted on the body. This series is a symbolic documentation of the ritual of learning from the past and bringing knowledge into the present as a method of healing. Many Yoruba and other Africans were forced into slavery throughout the Caribbean and the United States. As a result, African traditions are abundant in many parts of the world. In Diaspora, syncretic traditions arose combining traditional Yoruba ritual and new customs such as Christianity. Yoruba religion is centered around orishas, or deities. Often, the orishas are personified in dance and art to pay homage to them or ask for their guidance. The design elements painted on the body are the result of iconographical research, memory of folklore and ritual, and spontaneity in artistic style. This combination does not wholly belong to one culture or another, and thus represents the nature of the African Diaspora. Dance is an integral part of ritual, and the freedom of the images reflects and honors this ritual. As the paint releases itself from the body, the process of learning and healing occurs.

re-creation/understand? (2003), also recounts the experience of self-reflective historical learning. The woman in the photographs is from Jamaica. Until the self-reflective and cooperative effort to learn her history, “I’m from Jamaica,” is all she could explain about her heritage. Extensive research and interviews with family members led to a fuller understanding of her background. She was born in St. Anne’s Parish, Jamaica, grew up in Kingston, and descended from migrants and indigenous people. When she was twelve, she left Jamaica and spent time between Florida, Virginia, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. A combination of Arawak, Scottish, Jewish and African ancestry, she carries with her a rich line of tradition and customs. By painting the patterns on her body, her body became the transformative device. She took on the learning experience as her own and created a symbolic dance as its representation. The dance is documented in this series; the paint releases itself from her body, signaling the transformative movement from past to present in body and spirit.

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