Artist Replaces 6 Historical Art Models With Black Women

By Luke Miller,

Harmonia Rosales has taken classic works of art and replaced the original models with Black women. Turning history into herstory.

Rosales explained, “Art is my weapon in the ongoing battle against indifference and inaction. It forms the basis of resistance.”

Rosales gain popularity from her reinterpretation of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” in which she painted God and Adam as Black women. She says that women of color are not well represented in the art world, which she believes is dominated by white men.

“And when you consider that all human life came out of Africa, the Garden of Eden and all, then it only makes sense to paint God as a black woman, sparking life in her own image.” Rosales told Buzzfeed.

The artist says she paints Black women to inspire younger black women, saying, “I want my daughter to grow up proud of her curls and coils, her brown skin, and her identity as a woman of color, a woman of value.”

The following images are taken from her exhibition B.I.T.C.H. Which stands for Black Imaginary To Counter Hegemony.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.