This Child's Been Here Before — Acrylic Painting

Originally created for Temple University's Imhotep Graduate Student Journal (Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026), this acrylic painting was described by the artist as a visual prayer for the African "renaissance," published within an issue themed around the concept of "Wehemu Mesu," or the repetition of births. The piece depicts an African woman holding her child, the two figures set within a blue diamond that functions as a symbolic representation of the womb. This central image is bracketed on all four corners by ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) and Akan motifs — winged goddess figures drawn from Egyptian iconography, and the heart-shaped variant of Sankofa, the Adinkra symbol meaning "go back and get it." Together, these framing symbols root the intimate maternal embrace at the painting's center within a broader lineage of African spiritual and cultural memory, suggesting that the child held here carries forward wisdom, protection, and continuity from ancestral traditions across the continent and its diaspora.

Original artwork, acrylic on paper. First published in Temple University's Imhotep Graduate Student Journal, April 2026.