Still We Rise

The painting presents the transcendence of African ancestors. In the center, Adam and Eve in red are surrounded by orishas who help the Yoruba faithful transcend. Ogun, god of war, lights a match and burns the flag of the Confederacy; Eleggua, the god of the crossroads, holds a ladder between the spiritual and physical world, helping the Yoruba faithful communicate with the orishas; Yemayá at the bottom right remains with the ancestors across the Middle Passage; Osumare, the rainbow snake of creation at the top encompasses all the colors, symbolizing unity of humanity in order to heal as a society.

The ankh and cross together present the syncretism of Yoruba and Christianity. Modeled after Michelangelo’s Last Judgment fresco in the Sistine Chapel, Still We Rise provides an alternative vision of what happens in the afterlife. There is no heaven and hell, but rather, transcendence.

Exhibitions