Combining printmaking and painting with the stitching techniques she learned from her grandmother, Delita Martin creates spiritual portraits that elevate her Black subjects as icons. “In an effort to prevent Black bodies from falling into stereotypes that have been created and nurtured over time, I want to create imagery that shows the full essence of the subject—the spiritual, physical, and metaphysical space that they occupy,” she says.

Believing in Kings is characteristic of Martin’s approach. The portrait combines layers of symbols drawn from personal experience and West African cultures. For instance, the subject sits on a golden stool: a symbol of authority and leadership in the Asante culture. The subject’s image is overlaid with a patterned, orange-red transparent screen that indicates Martin’s “veilscape,” a liminal space that she defines as the “spiritual footprint that we leave in spaces wherever we go.” The artist uses red to evoke her subject’s fiery energy.