ALGORITHM: MIDJOURNEY (V5, V6)

Melanin-rich medieval depictions of the Virgin Mary and Child Christ (also known as Black Madonna, 12C-15C) have ignited centuries of scholarly speculation. Did medieval, European artists delibrately depict Madonnas of African-descent? Did St. Luke paint the Black Madonna of Częstochowa during the Virgin Mary's lifetime? From a live painting session? And if so, is St. Luke's Madonna a faithful representation of the Virgin Mary's racial heritage?

Various theories have been proposed to explain the Black Madonna's complexion, from the technical— oxidation of silver-based pigments, smoke damage from the burning of votive candles and incense, material degradation—to interpretations anchored in biblical text, notably the Songs of Solomon (1:5-6), which celebrates the beauty of Blackness: "I am Black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me." This perspective stands in stark contrast to interpretations that equate darkness with sin, as expressed in 1 John 1:5: "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all."

Departing from these theories of "unintentional Blackness", my AI-generated portraits intentionally celebrate the Black Madonna as an unmistakably, unquestionably, unambiguously Black divinity.

ALGORITHM: MIDJOURNEY (V5.1)

Beaded Braids Study — exploring how Midjourney [v 5.1] visualizes bead embellishments on braided Black hair. The text prompt includes visual cues from the bold, unapologetic hair and make-up worn by the legendary Kalakuta Queens.

The Kalakuta Queens were a collective of 27 women who were both performers and wives of the celebrated Nigerian musician and political activist, Fela Kuti. All 27 Queens were wed in a single ceremony — a deliberate move aimed at legitimizing their marital status in a culture that would otherwise stigmatize the women for cohabiting with Fela Kuti.

ALGORITHM: MIDJOURNEY (V5)

In Nigeria's Niger Delta region, all bodies of water are revered as sacred dwelling for Mami Wata—a femme-presenting, amphibious, metamorphic God whose influence spans fertility, wealth, and healing. Traditionally, artistic depictions of Mami Wata have aimed to capture the entity’s enigmatic nature, manifesting in various forms—a mermaid with non-African traits, “pseudo-Hindu snake charmer”, “human-fish goat-priestess”, mudfish, among other manifestations.

These AI-generated portraits, however, take a different approach by drawing inspiration from Nigerian folktales (Ogboro-Cole, 2015) that depict Mami Wata exclusively in human form. In these narratives, Mami Wata often assumes the role of a femme fatale or a benevolent stranger, intriguing and beguiling in equal measure.