The Story

And I Wondered if I Could Fly captures the interior world of a young Black girl suspended in thought — not from distraction, but from sacred imagination. Her gaze turns upward, unbothered by the weight of reality. The world around her is painted in layered crimson, but her eyes hold something softer: possibility.

Her hair, made from textured yarn and fabric, extends beyond the canvas — a physical metaphor for her presence, her depth, her reach. She is not trying to be seen. She simply is.

Macanjy invites us into that in-between space of Black childhood and becoming, where what looks like stillness is actually transformation. A moment where questions take shape in silence:

Can I be more than what I’ve been told?
What if the sky knew my name?
What if there’s more?

This work is quiet, but not passive. It is powerful because it does not beg to be understood — it simply asks to be felt.

Collections: SILENT NARRATIVE: ehoes of the unseen

Subject Matter: Black Girlhood, Imagination, Inner World, Identity, Tenderness

Current Location: Avant Garde Gallery Toronto

Credits

Anjola Adeniji