Georgie Nakima is painting space, of this world and out of it, too.
Trained as a scientist, the North Carolina artist often centers Black women in her murals with a celestial vibe. Her work is vivid, layered, and paints an afrofuture as soulful and poetic as an Octavia Butler novel.
In Providence, on a wall 35 feet tall and 110 feet wide on the George C. Arnold building, you can’t miss the bold and bright “Salt Water” mural of two Black women. Think Hippolyta’s intergalactic journey of self, dimensions, and time in “Lovecraft Country.”
“The two women are representing duality and a level of sisterhood, but they are placed in a night sky. It alludes to creative energy and destructive energy. What wins? Creative energy is the most resilient form of energy,” Nakima said. “I hope when Black New Englanders see this work they see a reflection of themselves and feel empowered and seen.”