Created by the Los Angeles-based artist Harmonia Rosales, ΩA Omega Alpha reimagines the imagery of the black body in Christian art. Rich in layers of oil, pigment, and gold, this refined selection of six paintings empowers lesser-known stories and subjects through the traditional canon of art history. Interweaving the oral histories and stories of Afro-Cuban religions, Rosales depicts figures that illuminate parallels in classical Western narratives while confronting the historical language of the Eurocentric male gaze. Rosales inverts the narrative of how faith and orthodox-based stories are told. In the diptych, Strangler Fig, Rosales portrays Adam and Eve standing with the fig tree between them as the roots merge over their feet. A tree that bears shape and form by strangling another host tree to make its fruit becomes the visual metaphor of manipulation, power, and control—drawing reference to the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade and the African diaspora. Making its first exhibition debut, Yemaya with Ibeji depicts the mother of the sea in Yorùbá religions as the Madonna in Christianity. Here, she holds albino Ibeji twins, symbolizing a single soul split into two, a balance in the physical world.

“Rosales's paintings seamlessly blend religious and cultural belief systems,” explains curator Britt Royer. “Her work challenges Western discourse yet pulls from these traditions to re-envision Greek heroes and Catholic saints. By intertwining the stories, histories, and beliefs of the African diaspora, Rosales casts visibility on Afro-Cuban heritage. It is an honor for Saint Mary’s College to host her debut in Northern California.”