"Mi tun mi madda."

This photo-based selfie mixed-media AI artwork captures that pivotal moment of transformation when we see our mothers in ourselves and ourselves in them. (Life Course Perspective Anthropology)

Wearing a synthetic wig, I visually honour that shift, that inheritance, that echo. Jamaican Patois (Patwa), a creole language born of resistance, colonial disruption, and survival, anchors our communication and bridges generations.

It’s how we speak our truth. It’s how we archive our lives.
This piece is part of my ongoing PhD research in visual ethnography, autoethnography and digital anthropology, exploring how Black British women use art, language, and memory to resist erasure, preserve identity, and redefine heritage across time, space, and technology.

Visual culture and lived experience
Creole linguistics, memory & resistance
AI + Selfie + Diaspora storytelling
Intersectional, age-aware feminist anthropology
Life course perspective anthropology
Disability Anthropology

We are the archives. We are the data. We are the designers.

Alt Text:

"Digital artwork of a Black woman wearing a synthetic wig, with striking editorial-style features and vibrant clothing. Her head is turned in reflection, embodying the phrase 'Mi tun mi madda' written beside her. This is a mixed-media, AI-enhanced self-portrait by Michi Masumi exploring Jamaican identity, language, and matriarchal lineage."

Art Processes:

Portrait Photography - Canon 90d and 50mm lens
Photoshop
Lightroom Classic and Lightroom
Rebelle 6
Midjourney - Blending
Canva - Text

This work builds upon
Intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989)
Autoethnographic methods (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011)
Digital Anthropology (Miller & Horst, 2012)
Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000)
Creole linguistics (DeGraff, 2005)

My research is grounded in digital art and digital platforms; for this reason, I have included the hashtags:

#visualethnography #autoethnography #blackbritishart #JamaicanPatois #creoleculture #digitalanthropology #linguistics #CulturalPreservation #artivism #diasporadialogues #afrofuturism #blackbritishwomen #creolelanguages #aiart #michimasumi #blackwomenartist #WeAreTheArchives #wearethedata #wearethedesigners #mixedmediaart #patoispower #creolecontinuum #decolonisethearchive #phdresearch #intergenerationalhealing #digitalculturalmemory #selfieart