Inspired by Ethiopian magic scrolls, this ongoing series draws from their form and purpose while reimagining their visual language. Traditionally, these scrolls combine prayers, incantations and sacred imagery as objects of protection. In my work, those elements give way to imagined figures and passages from writers whose words have remained with me over the years.
The scrolls are populated by recurring female figures who move through moments of uncertainty, struggle and transformation. They are accompanied by fragments of text from writers such as Édouard Glissant, Clarice Lispector and Octavia Butler, whose ideas have quietly shaped my thinking and continue to accompany my practice.
Rather than retelling the traditions from which they draw inspiration, these works seek to create a contemporary visual language of their own. They remain open-ended—part painting, part invocation—and continue to evolve with each new scroll.
"I have made a pact with the night, I have felt it softly healing me” - Aimé Césaire
"Women need to know that they can reject the powerful's definition of their reality, that they can do so even if they are poor, exploited, or trapped in oppressive circumstances. They need to know that the exercise of this basic personal power is an act of resistance and strength." - Bell Hooks
"There is a land Whose being is almost unimaginable to the Human mind. On a clear day,
We stand there and look farther than the ordinary eye can see. Far above the roof of the world, We can encompass vistas of the worlds. There is a land Where the sun shines eternally . . . Eternally eternal: Out in outer space A living blazing fire, So vital and alive . . . There is no need to describe its splendor. - Sun Ra