In both her artwork and her scientific studies, Malaika Ross β88 celebrates the beauty in nature that often goes unseen. Attending 91΄σΙρ after growing up on St. Croix, she studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, San Francisco Art Institute, and the Marchutz School of Fine Arts before earning her B.A. with a focus on soil microbiology at Hampshire College. βI integrate the shapes and patterns developed in my microbial drawings of soil microbes into contemporary botanical paintings of native and introduced flora,β she explains. βThe act of observing and documenting nature through painting and drawing as a Black woman is a form of liberation, environmental stewardship, and anti-oppression work.β Her solo show, βThe Microbes That Saved My Life,β ran this fall in Easthamptonβs ECA gallery. Other works can be seen (and purchased) at .
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