Artist Talk: Imo Nse Imeh, Feeding the Veins of the Earth

In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid renewed national attention to racial injustice following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, artist Dr. Imo Nse Imeh created Feeding the Veins of the Earth as a visual prayer. Part of his Benediction series, the painting imagines angels bound to the bodies of Black boys and men, bearing witness to both suffering and hope. Drawing on Christian imagery of death, resurrection, and blessing, the series explores the spiritual, social, and political dimensions of race, identity, and belonging.

Reflecting on the theological and personal questions that shaped the series, Imeh considers how Benediction has evolved into a broader inquiry into faith, citizenship, and social belonging. Bringing together art, religion, and social justice, the lecture invites audiences to consider the role of creative practice in confronting injustice and imagining new possibilities for human dignity and communal life.

Imeh’s work is featured in the Cantor Art Gallery’s Fall 2026 exhibition, Queens, Gods, and Devotees, on view from August 25-Novembet 24, 2026.