3.5′ x 7.5′; Mixed media on paper, 2024.
From Shawna Beasley:
This is a mixed media piece on archival paper about personal and shared family history. It is the first in a series of reflections of the past, my ancestors known and unknown as they are discovered through Mississippi archives, family stories, and my own experiences. They are among the work I have done via developments of my IFS therapy wherein I describe my history through internal family systems which appear to me as images and personified “parts” of myself. This conversation with my parts allows me to speak to my past and present self simultaneously, as well as discover what is mine and what is legacy.
Coming Up Roses I is the first piece like this for me, rooted in surrealism, symbology and a touch of the occult.
Keeping (and Telling) the Past 