Sunset on Auburn Ave (2024)
Sunset on Auburn Ave is the final project for the Sweet Auburn Art Residency for Atlanta-based visual artists. This painting features paint that Riyah Niko hand made from plant material, so it's all about plant pigment dust clouds coagulating within oil and binding to garden fertilizers and laundry supplies on canvas. The painting features aspects of Sweet Auburn that REMERGE community members uplifted such as: The Historic Ebenezer and Big Bethel churches, Haugabrooks Funeral Home and Gallery, Dr. and Mrs. King, Ella Baker, Rev. Orange, Hosea Williams, John Lewis, and the soon to be constructed "Front Porch." Riyah Niko extracted the blue (indigo), red (madder), yellow (marigold), brown and black (black walnut) pigments from plant material. Riyah, along with others in her community, suffer from chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, and generational trauma. This piece is meant to uplift the history of activism and community in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood while offering alternative art supplies that might paint our canvases and heal our bodies and spirits.