DADA (Sister) I, 2023
Ink and thread on watercolor paper
15 x 11 1/4 in.
38 x 28.5 cm
It takes little for us to recognize that where we come from is the same. Whether we share the same mother or father, the same community or nation, the same journey, religion, or language, we are connected before we commence our individual paths. Valerie Asiimwe Amani images this connectivity in DADA (Sister) I through a tree whose microscopic texture reminds us that blood is thicker than water, while the soil from which it emerges reminds us that water is life. That which links us is at times as delicate as the thread that adorns the collage, but delicacy does not necessitate fragility—this same thread, when reinforced, carries waist beads, weaves into cloth, and holds us together.