As my generation was coming of age in the 1990s, the televised beating of Rodney King was seminal to developing our world view. At the time, we were also witnessing the end of apartheid in South Africa with the election of Nelson Mandela.

I wanted to show solidarity and find a platform to express how I was feeling.

Qua Vardis, named for one of my sisters, is a derivative work based on a poster my cousin brought me back from Atlanta. I was immediately drawn to the portrait of the little girl with locks and large eyes.

At the time, I rarely saw images like that - particularly in New England. Her expression said what I was feeling; the depth and complexity I was learning how to articulate. As I began to re-create her face, I unleashed feelings of frustration, anger and despair. The fabric that makes up her garment are words that express my thoughts on apartheid and my response to the struggles of children growing up under the oppressive regime who were fighting for education and liberation.

Her face is simply my name in repetition.