I am their joy
“I am their joy”, Mixed media: acrylic and metallic leaf on canvas, 19.5x27.5in, 2025
“I conceptualized this painting at a time when I had been surrounded by voices that wanted me to shrink. These voices demanded I prioritize American ideals over my Dominican roots. They insisted that I had earned my Americanness and I should abandon those who hadn’t. Yet, the more pressure imposed on me to abandon my roots, the stronger I felt my ancestors pulling me back. The pull I felt made learning about my indigenous roots more important than ever. Inspired by this sense of urgency, I enrolled myself and my children in the Taino tribe, Higuayagua. I absorbed all of the knowledge I could. Where once I only saw grief and displacement, I learned to find joy within the strength of our history.
This inspiration led me to create indigenous Joy in my art.
I began embedding Taino petroglyphs in my paintings. I also began exploring how I imagine the zemi—our ancestral spirits—and other cultural icons might look in human form. In “I am their joy,” I depicted Diosa Luna, a popular figure in the Dominican Republic, incorporating elements that symbolize the human experience within the deity. By embedding the zemi into her hair, I represent the way we carry our ancestors with us, the way they guide us.
By depicting her human version, I show that our ancestors become us, and we become them. We are part of the chain that passes our ancestral knowledge, joy, and strength from one generation to the next. We do not only inherit trauma. We inherit love, laughter, ceremony, and wisdom. With this painting, I respond to the voices that wanted to silence me. I am my ancestors. I am their strength. I am their joy.”
—Steph
