Blackbird

Blackbird

Acrylic, Collage, and Oil on Reclaimed Substrate, 2025 (31x41)

This piece was inspired by Paul McCartney’s Blackbird, a song he wrote for The Beatles’ White Album in 1968. McCartney shared that the song was influenced by the civil rights movement, particularly the struggles faced by Black women. The "blackbird" in the song symbolizes resilience and empowerment in the face of adversity, inviting the listener to rise above the darkness and into the light.

At the heart of the composition, a Black woman stands at the edge, glancing over her shoulder at a black bird, their mirrored shadows stretching across the canvas. Their presence embodies the song’s central themes—awakening, perseverance, and the courage to rise. The interplay of light and shadow reflects the complexity of transformation, where past and future, struggle and flight, exist in quiet dialogue.

As part of my Reclamation Series, I found a mass-produced image of sunlight filtering through trees on an interesting frame and decided to give it new life by using it as the substrate.  The original landscape, once generic, now serves as a layered foundation for a story of resilience and rebirth—echoing the very themes of Blackbird.

Interwoven throughout the piece, delicate branches and muted florals suggest both fragility and strength. The branches reach outward, echoing the idea of resilience—weathering seasons of hardship yet continuing to grow. The softened florals, in contrast to the vibrancy of the forsythia, speak to quiet endurance, the beauty found in subtle moments of change, and the way past and present intertwine in our journeys of becoming.

I incorporated the sheet music of Blackbird as a collage element, grounding the visual composition in the song’s deep emotional and musical resonance. The lyric, "All your life you were only waiting for this moment to arise," reflects the theme of clarity and liberation—a long-awaited emergence from struggle into possibility.

The purple calla lilies and forsythia in the foreground symbolize the convergence of strength and hope. Calla lilies represent admiration, achievement, and the beauty that comes from overcoming challenges. Forsythia blooms stand as a beacon of renewal, new beginnings, and the promise of brighter days ahead, reminding us that every end leads to a new chapter.

Tiny transformational birds, scattered throughout the piece, represent the quiet, often unnoticed moments of change that propel us forward. These subtle elements mirror the theme of awakening, gently encouraging the viewer to recognize the smaller shifts that lead to significant growth.

Music and its ability to evoke deep emotional connection is a central theme in my work. In Blackbird, I merge the visual and musical to reflect profound human resilience and the astonishing act of alchemizing darkness into light.