Like plant seeds, we each hold rich biomarkers and histories of our ancestry within us. Once seeds begin to grow, they tend to develop into plants similar to the ones they came from—but depending on external influences (environmental conditions, pollination, and maintenance), they can evolve into something distinctly new.

Throughout the work, I shifted between societal and personal perspectives when considering what it means to be a member of the African diaspora. On a macro level, I reflected on the intersections of African cultural retentions and colonial influences that shape and persist within Bahamian society. On an intimate level, I ruminate on generational transferences of norms, the individualization that comes with personal experience, and the cyclical relationship between these behaviors that help shape society as a whole.

Across this series of five works, I depict my childhood self (a personified seed) as I explore what it means to cultivate “good seeds,” and what qualities we must possess to hold that positive distinction. With this, I fuse elements of “home”—colonial archives, Adinkra symbols, Junkanoo aesthetics, native flora/fauna, and family anecdotes—to illuminate the layered vibrancy and tension of our/my diasporic existence.