Holy Water

A man floating on his back in a body of water scrunches his face as he stares up at light pouring down from above. Dressed in a red bucket hat and polo and adrift in a sea of 50 shades of blue, he stands out like a burst of life or a drop of blood. The surrounding water reflects radiant and celestial on his body. The evocative painting by Calida Rawles, titled To See What It Is, 2024, is many things at once: It evokes deeply rooted issues of both ancestral and deeply personal racial trauma as well as a certain poetic vulnerability—perhaps here, the water signifies an end of his suffering.

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For her first ever solo museum exhibition at the Pérez Art Museum (PAMM) in Miami, “Away with the Tides,” Rawles continues her series inspired by her own photographs of Black bodies swimming, floating, and immersed in water. Each evocative scene submerges her audience in aquatic worlds and conjures a dark shadow within a luminous oeuvre.

For these new hyper-realistic paintings, Rawles collaborated with Miami’s historically Black neighborhood, Overtown to highlight community members from babies to senior citizens. In another work, Rawles portrays a Black man with a tattoo on his chest reading “Towner for Life.” He is lying down on what appears to be a wooden plank; one arm supports his head, while the other extends, fingers gently skimming the water. The man gazes straight up to the sky with a stare that could symbolize resignation or peaceful quietude.

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Each image was staged at Virginia Key beach and the public pool at Theodore Gibson Park in Overtown, marking the artist’s first time working in natural waters. Together, the portraits emphasize generational changes and underscore an American experience that is neglected more times than not. 

In contrast to this poignant scene, Rawles' earlier works explore tranquility amid more pointed adversity. In 2023, Rawles responded to the political climate with a series of 10 large paintings entitled “A Certain Oblivion” at Lehmann Maupin Gallery in New York. In one work in the exhibition, With Wings of Infinity, 2023, the painter depicted her own daughter dressed in a magenta, tulle party dress serenely floating in a sea of waves. Time appears frozen yet the murmuring of the ocean continues. Rawles has done the impossible–making an image a reality. Knees bent, arms out behind her, head held up just above the surface, her daughter represents the sheer juxtaposition of pain and peace felt by each generation preceding her. 

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Rawles’ use of subaquatic, allegorical paintings to simultaneously address racial injustice in America and offer a healing balm is what makes her voice a powerful one today. Tranquil yet violent, transparent yet opaque—water captures the duality of memory for the painter. At PAMM, her new works offer a transformative experience that shines a light on the magic of Overtown, and gives its residents a moment to finally feel heard, seen, and represented.

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“Away with the Tides” is on view at the Pérez Art Museum Miami from June 27, 2024 to February 23, 2025 at 1103 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132.