American Illustration 45 Winners

Daffodils

A 6-painting series that explores how memory, African American burial rituals, and cultural erasure intertwine. Seashells guard boundaries; water marks the threshold between life and death. Flowers, which honor and sometimes appear alongside sites of violence or erasure, represent care that was historically absent. Decorating Southern African American graves with shells reflects a belief in their power to aid spiritual transition through water. These symbols together form a visual and spiritual language that describes enduring cultural memory.

Lilies

A 6-painting series that explores how memory, African American burial rituals, and cultural erasure intertwine. Seashells guard boundaries; water marks the threshold between life and death. Flowers, which honor and sometimes appear alongside sites of violence or erasure, represent care that was historically absent. Decorating Southern African American graves with shells reflects a belief in their power to aid spiritual transition through water. These symbols together form a visual and spiritual language that describes enduring cultural memory.