‘EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF ONTOLOGICAL SHIFTS’ (2022)
The ground I am standing on represents the Eurocentric hegemonic epistemic coloniality
that I have been taught over the years. The crack represents the unsettling, unlearning and
disrupting that decoloniality has brought me. It shows the things that we have been taught
as normal and natural, and the crack signifies the disruption of the notions that we
previously had been grounded in. Whilst it might feel unsettling to feel the ground under
our feet become unstable, when we look at the gap below, we find beauty. The flowers
represent decolonial joy, love, liberation and all the good things that decoloniality can
bring. The painting also gives us a peek inside the ground below. As you can see, the roots
of the flowers are all connected. And whilst each flower has its individual colour and
beauty, representing individual liberations and justices, the interconnectedness of the roots
signifies that justices and liberations are all interconnected. The ground that I am standing
on is dry and uncreative just like Eurocentric coloniality. Some flowers have popped up
from the ground, which represent the individual disruptive truths that I have found along
the way, which under the ground are invisibly connected to the other truths through their
roots. Now that the ground has cracked open, we can see how everything is connected and
linked. Underneath we see a new layer, one that represents joy, justice, and love, all the
things that decoloniality can bring. You can see the roots of the flowers coming out of the
cracks and wrapping around my legs. These represent my sense of rootedness that
decolonial theory brings me. It speaks truths and helps to make sense of the world. It is
welcoming and communal. As the crack seems to progress further, more decoloniality
becomes visible. While it is a captured moment of where I am today, it also shows a
movement. And whilst the widening gap at first felt unsettling, when the crack is getting
bigger and showing its beauty, I will welcome the fall. The fall brings the body and
embodied knowledge into it. As the roots are growing around my legs, they will embrace me
when I fall.”
