Athena, c.2022

Deifying power and wisdom in our skin.

Athena features a woman in a flowing red cape wrapped around her body and head, which partially obscures from view a golden helm. Beneath her cape, she carries a golden spear and the shield of Medusa. Medusa is calm, snakes weaving about her face as she rests. A snowy owl is perched upon Athena's shoulder, watching over her as Athena peers at the viewer. Athena is set against an olive-green backdrop, representing one of the most popular tales of the goddess in her gift to Athens.

Athena challenges the Eurocentric connections between intangible concepts with the politics of the visual metaphors - specifically the kinds of bodies- we use to describe them. Athena for the Western World is synonymous with the qualities of wisdom and intelligence but is often represented in white skin. While understandable given her roots, a question arises of what these do to us when these understandings are constantly reinforced, even if done seemingly unintentionally. Athena deifies wisdom in a Black woman's body, therefore shifting this paradigm and allowing us ownership of this virtue.

Acrylic and 22K gold leaf on gallery-wrapped canvas.