As the Majician took rest in the grove as the Rooster looked on into the night. In the distance a cry reverberated.

I remember the first time I saw a Night Blooming Cereus. It was late one evening – I’m about 5 years old and my father woke us up with a flashlight telling us that “it’s time, the flower is opening”. The same cactus like plant we put in the rusty paint bucket months ago was now full circle.

I’m an adult now and I think a lot about those moments of my childhood. As I reconnect with the majic of my younger self, we revisit a place of tranquility, a sacred grove of my own, taking inspiration from the ones in India and Africa.

The Night Blooming Cereus returns to remind my adult self to move past fears and limitations that were taught to me. It teaches me to see light even in the darkest hour. My inner child has found peace within the grove as he feels protected amongst the spirit of the peacock, the rabbit and the roosters. All of which are symbolic to different aspects of my childhood.

l frame the work with elements from Caribbean life such as tassels and specific trimmings I saw growing up but in a way that gives new meaning to the work. Taking inspiration from Hindu prayer mats, the work becomes a prayer in itself to connect with an inner divinity.

The majic is in the inner child and I know I can always visit him in the grove between the ever blooming queen of the night above and the Purple hearts below.

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Watercolor, Water from the Rio Grande River and Blue Hole River Jamaica, Pen and Ink on Canvas, Various trimmings, Cedar Wood. 23 x 33.5 inches 2023