Familiar Grounds: Art Rooted in Black Southern Experience
When my friend Natalie asked if I wanted to see Sinners, I said yes without hesitation. I’d heard the buzz—powerful story, stunning visuals—and I’ve always been a fan of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. So we went.
As I sat in that dark theater, fully immersed, something strange happened. Scene by scene, I felt like I was stepping into my mother’s paintings.
Long before Sinners ever hit the screen, my mother—artist Antionette Simmons Hodges—had already been telling stories of guilt, grace, and spiritual reckoning. Her paintings, created in the 1990s and early 2000s, echo the same emotional tones: raw vulnerability, soulful strength, and the complexity of faith and identity. Her brushstrokes held theatrical weight, her figures draped in costume-like robes, frozen mid-confession or quiet defiance.
The film’s lighting. The costuming. The emotional weight. It was all there. Not copied—but mirrored in spirit. As soon as I got home, I texted my mom:
“I saw your art in this film.”
She thought I meant literally.
But it wasn’t about a specific scene—it was a feeling. A shared visual language. A moment where cinema and canvas seemed to whisper to each other across time.
And perhaps, that’s what art does best. It circles back. It finds new ways to speak, again and again.
Introducing: Reflections: Art That Echoes a Black Southern Experience
This new collection—Reflections: Art That Echoes a Black Southern Experience—isn’t about the film Sinners. It’s about the resonance that stories can carry, generation to generation. Each painting in this series stands alone. But together, they reflect the eternal tug-of-war between who we are and who we long to be.
Pictured : They Came Before us 1 & 2
My maternal grandparents were from Alabama, part of the Great Migration north in 1939. My grandfather worked in a steel plant; his brothers worked the railroad. My mother grew up shaped by the memory of the South—its pain, its beauty, and its spiritual undertones. These elements found their way into her work, capturing the essence of the Black Southern Experience—long before anyone called it cinematic.
The Black Southern Experience is more than a backdrop; it’s a living, breathing force. It’s in the way the light falls on a figure mid-confession, the way a cotton field stretches endlessly into the horizon, or the way a metallic mask hints at ancestral strength. My mother’s work embodies this, offering a deeply personal yet universal reflection of the Black Southern Experience.
We now revisit these paintings with new eyes. Because even decades later, the stories still sing. The Black Southern Experience continues to resonate, reminding us of the shared threads of history, identity, and resilience.
They Came Before Us 1 & 2 are central to this collection, standing as tributes to the strength and identity of those who came before us. These mixed-media collages, with their metallic mask-like faces and vibrant backdrops, reflect the enduring spirit of the Black Southern Experience.
A Legacy That Lives On
This collection is deeply personal. It reflects my family’s story, shaped by the South and its lasting impact. The Black Southern Experience is not just a historical memory—it’s alive in the art, in the stories, and in the connections we continue to make across generations.
Note: This artwork predates the film Sinners and is not affiliated with or endorsed by its creators. All connections are personal and interpretive.