Stephanie Santana
As Above / So Below
2024
Three-color lithograph with interference pigment flocking
27.5 x 22 inches
Edition: 15
Printed by Master Printer, Jazmine Catasús
Rooted in the responsive encounter with archival material while employing a range of printmaking, quilting and embroidery techniques, Santana’s practice explores interior worlds, mythologies, and resistance strategies within the Black diaspora. Her practice spans both time and geography, driven by the intent to unearth valuable historical information and ancestral wisdom.
The title of Santana’s new print edition, As Above / So Below, refers to situating oneself within systems of knowledge across both material and spiritual worlds. Using textures from cheesecloth, a print studio material, along with photo collage and a hand-drawn cosmogram, the composition draws on Santana’s textile-based printmaking practice and developing body of work, “The Wayfinding Series” (2022-Present), which endeavors to visualize and understand what her Black matriarchal ancestors experienced and examine how their concerns and survival strategies hold continued relevance in the present day.
As she states, “‘The Wayfinding Series’ is about engaging in a process of filtering images through research, reading and intuitive art-making practices; bringing these elements together to create a dialogue between our past and present, to better understand how we divest from intergenerational systems of oppression and cultivate joy. The textile works are grounded in the history of narrative quiltmaking by Black women as a tool for self-discovery, record-keeping and maintaining personal agency.”
As a founding member of Black Women of Print, Santana honors the legacy of Black women printmakers, celebrating their contributions, centering intersectional narratives and ensuring their work remains visible and influential for future generations.
Santana’s dedication to The Printmaking Workshop's history is evident in her selection of four pivotal artists from our Archives: Betye Saar, Dindga McCannon, Emma Amos, and Mavis Pusey. Despite being born decades apart, these artists collectively explore themes central to Black womanhood, spirituality, personal narratives, and material culture.
Conceived of and founded by artist and scholar Tanekeya Word in 2018, Black Women of Print is a professional member organization of six 21st century Mid-Career and Established printmakers: Dr. Deborah Grayson, LaToya Hobbs, Althea Murphy-Price, Karen Revis, Stephanie Santana and Tanekeya Word.
Special thanks to organizer, educator, archivist and curator Mariame Kaba, and educator Neta Bomani for the creation of print and zine “Black Photo Booth,” from which the original image for As Above / So Below (2024) is sourced. For more information on Black Photo Booth, visit blackphotobooth.glitch.me.
