Kettle Prayers
Pa-Shun Hawkins
with support from LaShunda Hawkins and Parris Hawkins
Prayer is a way of speaking to God, and throughout history it has offered refuge in moments of uncertainty, fear, and hopelessness – especially when the problems before us feel larger than what we can carry alone. During the Antebellum period, even when their worship was restricted or policed, Black Americans sought refuge in God. They prayed for freedom, gathered in faith, and carried traditions of prayer, hope, and belief forward through generations.
The painting traces a journey from hidden prayer to answered prayer. The forest represents hush harbors, secluded spaces where enslaved Black people gathered to worship beyond the surveillance of enslavers. The kettle pot is inspired by stories of enslaved people using pots to muffle the sound of their prayers, including the story of Will Ford III’s family prayer kettle. In the distance, Mother Bethel AME Church represents Black communities creating independent spaces to worship in response to racial discrimination. Finally, Emancipation Oak symbolizes freedom and answered prayer; it was the site of the first Southern reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Hidden throughout the painting are invisible prayers collected from Black Americans, expressing their hopes, fears, and concerns for our climate future. The paint marker painting is embedded with these prayers with invisible UV paint. I collected prayers from family members and people in my community, inviting them to pray about whatever weighed on their hearts as they thought about the future. I was especially interested in seeing what concerns emerged naturally: prayers for our environment and climate, for leaders, for future generations, for family, and for community.
The same faith that sustained Black people through generations of uncertainty and allowed them to imagine a future beyond bondage can offer a way of confronting problems that feel bigger than us today. This project brings past and present together by creating space for Black Americans to bring their concerns about climate change to God – praying for leaders, future generations, the environment, their communities, and whatever else weighs on their hearts.
Here, prayer becomes an active practice of hope: placing burdens larger than ourselves into God’s hands while continuing to imagine and work toward a better future.
Today’s science, Pa-Shun’s climate future:
Pa-Shun Hawkins
Los Angeles, CA
My work explores prayer, faith, and the uncertainty of the future. I struggled with the idea that the future was something I could reimagine or create for myself, and my faith further complicated that idea. I believe that the future is ultimately in God’s hands — that God has the initial and final say. This does not mean giving up hope or responsibility, but rather recognizing that when we face problems larger than ourselves, we can turn to God, who is all-knowing.
The painting serves as a visual center for the written prayers and represents the possibility of answered prayer. I was inspired by the relationship between what we worry about now, what we ask God for, and what future generations may one day experience as the answer to prayers made before them. Prayer became the center of this work because it is an active expression of that belief.
This project is also connected to the long history of prayer within Black communities, where faith has offered a source of refuge, hope, and endurance in circumstances that often felt insurmountable. Through this work, I want to create space for people who think of problems bigger than themselves to recognize prayer as an outlet.