Debra Cartwright: Bodies of Water: Black Geographies and Maternal Legacies

Welancora Gallery presents Bodies of Water: Black Geographies and Maternal Legacies, an exhibition of new work by Debra Cartwright that builds on an ongoing project examining the intricate and interconnected narratives of the Black female body, geography, and medical history.

With a focus on Cartwright’s maternal lineage, which spans from Virginia to New York and the landscapes in between, the works layer waterscapes, family stories, historical accounts, and personal reflections. This approach creates a textured exploration of migration, selfhood, and the intersections of violence and resilience in Black American experiences.

Drawing on J.T. Roane’s Dark Agoras and the concept of Black radical spatial ecology, the exhibition explores how waterways in Virginia served as sites of survival, resistance, and migration. These waterways connect generations of Black women who, while navigating systemic violence, forged spaces of healing, care, and self-determination. The intimate experiences of Black women are central, illustrating how maternal narratives reflect broader histories of migration and the transformation of rural practices into urban lifeways.

The works, displayed in frames hanging throughout the space, evoke themes of birth, caregiving, and the hidden rituals that sustained these women across generations. Each piece traces the unspoken ways women shaped spaces of self-creation, from Virginia’s rivers to the urban landscapes of New York, revealing how these stories resonate within larger Black geographies.

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