“Waking At Sunset,” Photography & Digital Art, Faylita Hicks, June 2022. The original photo was taken in one of New Orleans’ infamous graveyards at sunset sometime in 2017. The woman walks towards the viewer, looking back at their past incarnations before coming fully into the present. The woman is walking in alignment with her true purpose, surrounded by the words and wisdom of her ancestors and the light of a golden gate, leading her into an unknowable but concrete and bright future. In this manipulated image, a single crow becomes two, representing the staying power of a community that uses their stories and oral histories to help keep everyone connected.

“Innocence,” Digital Art, Faylita Hicks, September 2022. One night, several ancestors decided to visit their Children’s gathering. At an empty crossroads, three Children dressed as roosters laughed and celebrated their unlikely survival to adulthood with song and dance, a crown of fireworks hovering over each of their heads. In the middle of the chaos and noise sat a young Black girl meditating on the beauty of this moment, her calabash and water bowl for the visiting ancestors at her side. With these, she would honor those who had come to support and protect her. But further down the road, a young White girl skipped toward the police. Unfamiliar with the costumes and sounds coming from the party, she had confused the celebration with a conflict. Afraid for her life, she wanted to report it to the police, though the police had already begun to block off the road with the intention of arresting everyone in sight. The plan was to put a permanent end to the strange celebration — though they did not know about the ancestors already on their way to protect the event. In the background, the trees lining the road dance and glitter, remnants of those who have come and gone throughout time, mirroring the never-ending party.