These works are not products; they’re heirlooms. Each commission is a deeply personal collaboration built around story, reverence, and craft. No editions are ever sold, and no two pieces are alike.

What is the artistic medium and modality?

The artistic medium is contemporary photography, specifically utilizing a unique form of photographic collage and mixed media fabrication.

• Modality/Technique: The artist, Shavon Aja Morris, employs a process of layered visual storytelling through collage.

  • This involves collecting and reusing found photographs (often from cultural publications and African American memorabilia dating back to the 1960s).

  • The found material is then layered, scanned, and reprinted.

• Fabrication: The final works are fabricated on archival cotton/hemp paper. This step is crucial, as the low DPI (dots per inch) from the original source material exposes an intricate texture in the finished print, adding a tactile element to the visual artwork.

The overall modality is the recontextualization of historical imagery to explore themes of Black American womanhood, resilience, and femininity.

The process unfolds over 3 to 5 months, depending on scale and complexity, and includes four distinct phases:

1. Inquiry & Discovery Call - The collector shares who they’re honoring and why. Together, we explore values, visuals, and legacy.

2. Legacy Walkthrough Meeting - We meet to discuss the life, voice, and images of the woman being remembered. I ask for physical photos throughout their life (portraits, and headshots of the subject, along with stories, memories and life themes.)

3. Creative Direction & Design Meeting - The collector will receive and review two thoughtful compositions, and decide on a final.

4. Production & Presentation: The work is fabricated at scale, custom-framed, packed with care, and delivered by hand.

Clients often speak to the intimacy of the process and the space to reflect. They describe it as both creative and cathartic, and enjoy remembering and rediscover their loved ones presence through art. The experience is equal parts portrait and memory work.

Yes. Works can scale up to 43” on either side and may be created in vertical, horizontal, or diptych formats. Each piece is tailored to client’s vision and the story it represents.

Investment begins at $25,000, inclusive of custom framing and personal delivery. To preserve the integrity of the work, only 3 to 5 commissions are accepted annually, with flexible payment options available throughout the process.

While any family member may commission a piece, each work centers the lives, memories, and matriarchal lineages of Black women. Through layered storytelling and collage, these portraits become living archives of identity, resilience and beauty.