Work samples

  • Crawl
    Crawl

    2021

    Acrylic Paint

    11 in x 14 in 

    This painting embodies a playful, childlike energy, reminding me of the joy and creativity that art sparks. The red figure, resembling a large elephant, symbolizes one of the most intelligent and playful animals—some of which can even paint! This reflects how I feel about the process of painting: a space to be imaginative, expressive, and self-reflective. Through creating, you enhance your well-being, self-discovery, and knowledge, making the journey of painting a kind of intelligence in itself.

    The colors in this piece carry intentionally vibrant and emotionally resonant energy.

    • Baby blue feels nurturing and gentle.
    • Yellow radiates brightness and gratitude.
    • Coral peach offers a sense of calm and grounding.
    • Purple asserts strength and confidence.
    • Turquoise bridges earth and water, reinforcing a connection to nature.

    The orange sea star further enhances the aquatic theme, embodying vibrancy and abundance through its triangular shapes. It ties back to the playful, energetic spirit of exploration that defines this piece.

    This painting reflects my belief that creativity is both a practice of play and a tool for understanding ourselves, celebrating the emotional depth and intuitive discovery that art cultivates, along with curiosity, joy, and a connection to nature.

  • Self Portrait
    Self Portrait

    2017

    Charcoal on Paper

    18 in x 24 in 

  • Sequelae.pdf

    "Sequelae" is an unapologetic poetic response to Christen A. Smith’s Facing the Dragon: Black Mothering, Sequelae, and Gendered Necropolitics in the Americas.

    The poem examines how the deaths of Black men are not isolated acts but also targeted violence against Black women—especially Black mothers.

    Rooted in Smith’s argument that Black mothers are scripted as enemies of the state, Sequelae critiques the state’s devaluation of Black life, the invisibility, criminalization, and fetishization of Black women, and sequelae—systemic trauma enforced as a political tactic.

    Through visceral imagery and metaphors, it links systemic violence to history, from enslavement and forced reproduction to modern erasure of Black history.

    It reframes Blackness as cosmic and divine, rejecting misogynoir and erasure while celebrating Black resilience.

    Available for Purchase
  • Daylight Savings Short Film - March 2022

    In 2021, I founded an environmental community organizing project called Sister Stream Catcher (SSC) which aims to raise awareness and address the environmental problems plaguing Baltimore City. This short film explores my journey and relationship with Nature leading up to the point of SSC's origin. 

    Available for Purchase

About Rejjia

Transdisciplinary Artist, Educator and Organizer from Baltimore with a studio at the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower

Jump to a project:

Word Searches

Remember Me, Still Here and Kill All Rapists are a mixed media collection of word searches. 

  • Kill All Rapists
    Kill All Rapists

    This puzzle is unapologetic in its stance—a statement against those who commit sexual violence and murder. I believe that serial killers and rapists should not exist, as they steal resources, safety, and life from others. While some argue about morality, justice, and suffering, I think it depends on the perspective—even gods like Kali, Goddess of Death, would demand retribution.

    For this puzzle, STRIKE OUT the names of these murderers and rapists—a symbolic act of removal, justice, and resistance against those who have caused irreparable harm.

    Names List:
     

    ANTHONYSOWELL 

    BILLCOSBY 

    BROCKTURNER 

    CHARLESHOLIFIELD 

    DANIELHOLTZCLAW 

    DARRENDEONVANN 

    DEBRADENISEBROWN 

    DEWAYNELEEHARRIS 

    *IKETURNER 

    JEREMYSTROHMEYER 

    MICHAELMADISON 

    MICHAELWYSOLOVSKI 

    MIKETURNER 

    MIKETYSON 

    SHANEMPICHE 

    WILLIAMKENNEDYSMITH

    *I KNOW HE IS DEAD BUT IT REALLY ANNOYS ME HOW PEOPLE STILL USE HIS ABUSE AGAINST AGAINST TINA TURNER AS A PUNCHLINE

  • Still Here
    Still Here

    "Still Here" honors the survivors—those who have endured violence, those who have lost loved ones to police brutality, serial killers, rapists, and a system that continuously fails to protect them. This piece is dedicated to the family members left behind, who carry the weight of grief, trauma, and the lasting effects of injustice.

    Many of these survivors have come close to death themselves, yet they continue to fight, to heal, and to remember.
    Take a moment to acknowledge them—to hold space for their resilience, their pain, and their survival.

    Names List:

    ANNIEHILLARD 

    GENEVAREEDVEAL 

    GLADYSWADETHOMAS

    LATUNDRABILLUPSHENDERSON 

    LAVERNETURKS 

    MARLENEPINNOCK 

    MARYHILLARD 

    MELVETTESOCKWELL 

    SAMARIA RICE (two different words)

    ROSANMILLER 

    SARAHPARATIPALHEGYI 

    SHAWNMORRIS 

    TAJAIRICE 

    TASHATHOMAS

  • Remember Me
    Remember Me

    "Remember Me" is a tribute to the Black girls and women whose lives were taken by police violence, serial killers, rapists, and systemic negligence. This word search puzzle is not just an activity—it is an act of remembrance, a call to acknowledge those who have been ignored, dismissed, and forgotten.

    Black girls and women have long been overlooked by law enforcement, their reports of violence mishandled, falsified, or ignored, only for their cases to be reopened as cold files once they are found dead. This puzzle highlights how the indifference of police, not just the perpetrators, contributes to their deaths—because failing to act, to believe, and to protect is also a form of violence.

    During my research for this piece, I encountered horrific details about these tragedies, which deeply affected me—leaving me paranoid, sleep-deprived, and overwhelmed with fear. The reality is that all women, particularly Black women and girls, live with the threat of violence at some point in their lives, whether physical, sexual, or psychological. This is not just a possibility; it is a fact.

    Historically, Black girls and women have stood at the forefront of movements, fighting for justice while rarely receiving the same level of advocacy in return. The disproportionate focus on the killings of Black boys and men—both in history and within the Black Lives Matter movement—has meant that Black women’s names are often forgotten, their stories left untold.

    This puzzle is an invitation to remember them. To pause, to search for their names, to circle them, and to reflect on who they were beyond the injustice they endured. Their lives mattered. Their stories deserve to be told. Take the time to find them, to hold them in memory, and to ensure that they are never erased.


    Name List:

    AFRIKKA HARDY
    AIYANA STANLEY JONES
    AMELDA AMY HUNTER
    AMELDA HUNTER
    ANGELA DESKINS
    ANITH JONES
    ARNESHA BOWERS
    ASHAWNTY DAVIS
    ATATIANA JEFFERSON
    CRYSTAL DOZIER
    DENISE MARIE HARRIS
    DIANE TURNER
    ELEANOR BUMPURS
    GABRIELLA NEVARE 
    JANICE WEBB 
    JOYCE CURNELL
    KATHRYN JOHNSON
    KENDRA JAMES
    KIM YVETTE SMITH
    KINDRA CHAPMAN
    KORRYN GAINES
    LATANDRA ELLINGTON
    LESHANDA LONG 
    MICHELLE CUSEAUX
    MICHELLE MASON
    MINERVA TRIPP
    MIRIAMCAREY
    NANCY COBBS
    NATASHA MCKENNA
    NATISHA ANDERSON
    NIA WILSON
    NIZAH MORRIS
    OLIVIA SMITH
    RALKINA JONES
    RAYNETTA TURNER
    REKIABOYD
    SADIE ROBERTS JOSEPH
    SANDRA BLAND
    SHEILA ABDUL SALAAM
    SHELLY FREY
    SHENEQUE PROCTOR
    SHEREESE FRANCIS
    SHERRICE IVERSON
    SHETISHA SHEELEY
    SHIRELL DAHELEN TERRY
    SONYA BILLINGSLEY
    TAMIKA TURKES
    TANISHA ANDERSON
    TARIKA WILSON
    TASHA THOMAS
    TEAIRA BATEY
    TELACIA FORTSON
    TISHANA CULVER
    anTOINETTE JONES
    TONIA CARMICHAEL
    TRACEY L MARTIN 
    VERNITA TRAYLENE WHEAT

Sister Stream Catcher

At its heart, Sister Stream Catcher is an interdisciplinary environmental art project dedicated to environmental justice, public art, and civic engagement in Baltimore. Rooted in the preservation of Hanlon Park Playground and Wash Water Lake Stream, this evolving work blends installation, sculpture, textile art, performance, community engagement, photography, and film to deepen people’s connection to their natural surroundings, encourage collective responsibility for the environment, and spark reflection and action. These elements work together to create a public intervention—one that reimagines conservation as both an artistic and collective practice, rather than solely an environmental effort.

On a personal level, this work is a ritual of care. For me, cleaning up litter is more than an act of restoration—it is an act of spiritual and communal cleansing, an offering of good karma into the world. It’s the same energy I feel from the Wish Tree, an interactive installation where community members and visitors tie written aspirations onto its branches, creating a growing, living archive that illustrates the formation of public memory and the way natural environments hold collective histories over time. This piece forms a tapestry of shared hopes for the environment and the future. Together, these actions uplift and transform the space, reminding us that art, like conservation, is about relationships—between people, places, and time.

Additionally, Sister Stream Catcher addresses tangible environmental challenges, including litter pollution and ecological degradation, by developing an eco-friendly textile installation—a woven, macramé, or crocheted barrier designed to physically and symbolically deter litter accumulation at the ecotone between the park and stream. This sculptural structure will serve both as a functional deterrent and as a visual statement on conservation. Inspired by the natural world, these woven forms mirror the intricate webs spun by spiders—creatures I associate with creativity, transience, and the number 8, which holds spiritual significance for me. This aspect of the project is deeply rooted in both nature and identity, reinforcing the interconnectedness of ecosystems and community. While the final technique is still evolving, the act of experimenting with materials is itself part of the project’s conceptual framework, mirroring the collaborative and iterative spirit of Sister Stream Catcher. The project also envisions the creation of a labyrinth, transforming the park into a meditative and restorative space for the community. 

In many ways, Sister Stream Catcher operates as a living exhibition, merging environmental action with artistic intervention. By transforming a polluted site into a sanctuary, the project invites audiences to reconsider their relationship with public space, materiality, stewardship, ecology, community, and care. It encourages community members to take ownership of their shared environment and actively participate in its protection. Through site-responsive activations, including performances with a large-scale puppet of a water goddess made from discarded plastic, Sister Stream Catcher transforms environmental cleanup into a communal performance of renewal and resistance. Events such as Poetry in the Park invite further reflection, positioning public space as a stage for creative activism.

Though it is centered on Hanlon Park and Wash Water Lake, the project extends an open invitation to engage in environmental issues and joys through art and community, wherever they arise. By integrating expertise from art, science, environmentalism, spirituality, and social justice, this project fosters innovative solutions that address environmental concerns while centering marginalized communities. It is an artwork in constant motion—part installation, part performance, part communal ritual. Sister Stream Catcher isn’t just about cleaning up a park; it is about redefining what art can do in the world—how it can inspire action, healing, and dialogue. It is about reimagining, rebuilding, and reclaiming land, stories, and our collective future through all the funs ways that art, activism, collective action and creative intervention can!

  • Three Friends, One Mission – The Beginning of Sister Stream Catcher - March 2021
    Three Friends, One Mission – The Beginning of Sister Stream Catcher - March 2021

    This photo captures the first cleanup effort I organized with two friends at the Hanlon Park Wash Water Lake ecotone. Just the three of us collected all these bags of trash, documenting the moment after compiling them. This was the first step toward the creation of the Sister Stream Catcher Project, marking the beginning of a larger vision for environmental stewardship and community care. A memory of the power of friendship, girlhood/womanhood, collective responsibility, and personal accountability in reclaiming and protecting natural green spaces.

  • Creating the First Wish Tree – Sister Stream Catcher Cleanup, December 2021
    Creating the First Wish Tree – Sister Stream Catcher Cleanup, December 2021

    The first Sister Stream Catcher cleanup event at Hanlon Park in December 2021, marking the creation of the very first Wish Tree. Participants gather around a tree, carefully wrapping it with string and decorations as part of an interactive public art installation. Fallen leaves cover the ground, signaling late autumn, as the scene captures the beginning of a community-led effort to restore and reimagine the park, blending environmental care with artistic expression.

  • Honoring Autumn Equinox Through Environmental Care, Meeting Ground and Ritual - September 2022
    Honoring Autumn Equinox Through Environmental Care, Meeting Ground and Ritual - September 2022

    During the Autumn Equinox Event with Meeting Ground Project in September 2022MJ, Susan, and other volunteers joined me in cleaning up litter in the ecotone area of Hanlon Park Woods and Wash Water Lake Stream. In the foreground, Susan, wearing a blue sweater with yellow straps, bends down, gathering trash into a black garbage bag near a fallen tree. In the background, MJ, in a pink hoodie and white pants, holds a trash bag, while I, dressed in black and red, collect debris near a graffiti-covered concrete structure. The lush greenery contrasts with the scattered waste, embodying the ritual cleaning and clearing that marked the start of our seasonal gathering.

  • Daylight Savings Short Film - March 2022

    In 2021, I founded an environmental community organizing project called Sister Stream Catcher (SSC) which aims to raise awareness and address the environmental problems plaguing Baltimore City. This short film explores my journey and relationship with Nature leading up to the point of SSC's origin. 

    Available for Purchase
  • Community Wish Tree: A 360° Perspective - December 2023

    This video offers a 360-degree view of the Community Wish Tree, an interactive public art installation designed as a shared space for intention and reflection. As the camera moves around the tree, viewers take in the full scope of its presence—its trunk wrapped with handwritten wishes, dreams, and heartfelt affirmations from the local community. Though individual messages are not legible, the collective gesture of their placement forms a woven expression of shared vision, care, play, and joy. The Wish Tree stands as a living symbol of strength, connection, and collective storytelling. Without leaves or branches adorned, the focus remains on the rooted presence of the tree itself—a testament to intention, growth, and the power of shared expression.

  • Walking the Labyrinth: A Moment from Global Waters Dance - June 2023
    Walking the Labyrinth: A Moment from Global Waters Dance - June 2023

    As Sister Stream Catcher, I contributed to the Global Waters Dance event in multiple ways. For this portion, I created a crocheted yarn rope, which I arranged in a labyrinth design on the floor. Participants wrote reflections and messages related to the event’s theme of water on hand-painted paper tears, attaching them to the labyrinth. They then walked the pathway in silence, bringing an offering to the center. Earlier in the event, I also participated in the Water Goddess Procession, embodying the spirit of water, its connection to care and renewal. This photo captures the scene during the labyrinth activity, showcasing the collective engagement, ritual and movement of the gathering.

  • Community Cleanup at Hanlon Park Ecotone – March 2024

    This video, captured during the Community Wish Tree Cleanup Event in March 2024, offers a sweeping look at the ecotone of Hanlon Park Playground, Woods, and Wash Water Lake Stream—a space where nature, community, and restoration efforts intersect. The footage begins with a pan to the left, revealing a person bending down to collect litter, with a pile of trash nearby—evidence of both the environmental challenges and the ongoing work to reclaim the space. As the camera continues left, the stream water emerges behind fallen trees, their tangled branches trapping scattered debris. The video then zooms in on another volunteer across the way, wearing a hoodie and highlighter vest, actively cleaning with a black trash bag in hand, reinforcing the collective action at the heart of this event.

  • Carrying the Water Goddess: A Procession for Clean Water - October 2024

    This video captures a moment of collaborative performance as I embody Sister Stream Catcher, moving in harmony with others to bring the Water Goddess to life. As we process down the street during a public art unveiling in Remington, Baltimore, the towering puppet sways with the rhythm of our synchronized movements, its flowing form controlled by sticks guiding her through the air. A group follows behind, moving in solidarity, amplifying the presence of the Water Goddess as a symbol of water justice and environmental care. At the front, the leader’s **drumming and call-and-response chant—"Clean water, fresh water, everybody deserves"—**set the cadence for our steps, transforming the procession into a living ritual of activism and communal storytelling.

Sexual Liberation

Sexual Liberation is a radical body of sex-positive digital artworks created to reimagine the politics of the body, reclaim pleasure, and embrace the transformative power of healing through art. Through the manipulation of digital photography using PhotoScape X on MacOS, I incorporated imagery of my own vulva to make vibrant, evocative pieces that challenge stigma, reimagine intimacy, and celebrate the revolutionary power of self-exploration, autonomy, and mental well-being.

This series is deeply personal, born out of my own journey to heal from childhood sexual abuse and the lasting mental health effects of trauma, shame, and silence caused by the hands of my own family. This is something my family doesn't talk about nor the fact that that was my first sexual experience. For years, I carried the weight of unspoken pain, which manifested in dissociation, disorder, and internalized stigma.  These works are my form of self-reclamation, transforming something painful into a creative, empowering process. By manipulating these images, I subvert the manipulation I endured, using art to process my evolving relationship with my sexuality and mental health. The act of speaking up about this experience is helping me to rectify the injustices that have been imposed upon me by this trauma as well as by world where the sexuality of Black women is weaponized. 

This series draws from nature, femininity, religion, and motherhood, merging the physical, spiritual, and psychological to honor sexual expression rather than shame. My work resists a culture that demonizes women for embracing their bodies, desires and sexuality, labeling them as fast, sluts, unworthy of respect and therefore disposable. It is a fact that women who challenge sexual norms, especially Black women and sex workers, are disproportionately subjected to violence, erasure, and state neglect, reinforcing the belief that our pleasure, safety, and emotional well-being are not priorities, nor do they belong to us. This project combats those narratives by celebrating sexuality, self-love, and creativity as interconnected sources of healing, empowerment, and freedom. 

With Sexual Liberation, I encourage others to explore the joy of erotic power and hope to inspire a world where pleasure and self-discovery are not vilified, but celebrated. Through playful experimentation and creative self-expression, these pieces envision sexuality as a force of healing, connection, and praise for the divine aspects of our bodies. This series is an invitation to reclaim intimacy as an integral part of our humanity, one that is wholly embodied and as a pathway to liberation, self awareness, and joy.

So please, enjoy.

  • her
    her

    Her merges photography and digital painting to explore healing, sexuality, and the body’s connection to nature. The composition features a profile-like silhouette of a woman with soft peach hair and a radiant yellow face, evoking a sun-like warmth and illumination. Beneath the face, a black heart-like form cradles a vulva nestled inside it, resembling a baby—a visual representation of sheltering, protection, and the transformation of pain through connection to the natural world.

    The natural elements within the piece—the radiant sun-like face, the blue sky, earthy brown and green grounds, and deep navy blue waters—symbolize how nature feels to me: restoring, healing, and comforting. The contrast between the dark heart and the surrounding vibrant landscape reflects the tension between trauma and healing, reinforcing the idea that nature holds, nurtures, and restores.

    Her is a celebration of femininity and beauty, evoking joy, and pleasure, resisting female sexuality as something shameful but rather reclaiming it as something beautiful, natural, and deeply connected to the world around us

  • forbidden fruit
    forbidden fruit

    forbidden fruit explores themes of erotic empowerment, desire and the bodily experience of desire, with the apple symbolizing the biblical concept of sex—the forbidden fruit. The red apple acts as a veil, concealing part of the body, reflecting my personal experience with sexual trauma and the silence surrounding it within my family. This concealment mirrors the broader societal taboos around sex, particularly female sexuality, which is often shrouded in guilt, stigma, and repression.

    Through this work, I reclaim my narrative, confronting the ways in which desire, trauma, and shame are intertwined. By reclaiming this imagery, Forbidden Fruit challenges perceptions of purity and eroticism, confronting cultural discomfort with female pleasure, autonomy and self-possession. This piece is an assertion that sexuality is both central to human experience and deeply personal—something to be explored on one’s own terms.

  • christ
    christ

    Christ is a bold, abstract digital artwork that explores the intersections of power, sexuality and divinity through form and color. The intensity and stark contrast between the colors black, red, and yellow create a visual tension between of the body’s ability to hold both pain and divinity. Using imagery reminiscent of christ in crucifixion, I challenge the ways in which desire, liberation, and faith coexist and conflict, provoking reflection on the relationship between pleasure and shame, suffering and awakening, body and spirit.