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Manabozho, Brer Rabbit, and Zomo
On January 30th 2024 Bentley University had a celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., where a workshop was held that allowed students and staff of Bentley to participate in a triptych mural. The three panels were prepared in advance by myself with my team, where we painted up until the final layers of designs, which were then completed by workshop attendees to foster community, with attendees adding their personal touches.
Depicting three rabbit folk lore heroes, the workshop aimed to teach and connect the community to these stories and their vibrant history of intersectionality between Eastern Woodland Indigenous cultures and West African cultures that were enslaved. The widely known Brer Rabbit is an amalgam of these people's own rabbit heroes, Manabozho of the Eastern Woodlands, and Zomo of West Africa, which are just two of the names these characters have across their lands.
Both serve in very similar roles in their respective cultures, representing cunning and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. Both tricksters rely not on brute force, but intelligence and pure will to accomplish their goals.
Manabozho
Brer Rabbit
Zomo
Coloring pages were supplied with my original design. This differs from the final mural since the paintings were worked on by a large amount of people to represent the community they reside in.
Each panel measures 5' x 4'
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