In tomorrow’s bloom
Utopia and the Future We Choose to GroW
A painting set at Rotterdam Centraal shaping a vision of a world that may be closer than we think.
IN THIS ARTICLE
The sculpture in Rotterdam that became the starting point for this painting
Why I don’t believe Utopia is a fantasy
How conversations with the community shape the work
A guided walk through the metaphors in In Tomorrow’s Bloom
Why determination is the most important ingredient for change
WHERE THIS BEGAN
Thousands of people pass through Rotterdam Centraal every day. I was meant to be one of them. Then I saw her.
The first time I stood in front of Thomas J Price’s Moments Contained, I wasn’t expecting it to stay with me. There she was. A monumental bronze sculpture of a young Black woman standing confidently in one of the busiest public spaces in the city. She wasn’t elevated on a pedestal. She wasn’t portraying a historical figure or someone famous. She simply stood.
When the sculpture was unveiled, it quickly became part of Rotterdam’s identity. People knew exactly which sculpture you meant when you said “the woman outside the station.” It became a landmark almost overnight, celebrated not only for its scale but for what it represented. It made visible a story that had long been absent from our public spaces.
As a Black woman myself, that mattered. Representation doesn’t change the past, but it changes what feels possible. It shifts our understanding of who belongs, whose stories deserve to be seen, and what future generations grow up believing is normal.
That moment became the beginning of In Tomorrow’s Bloom. Not because this painting is about the sculpture. But because it asks the same question.
What happens when we choose to build a future where everyone belongs?
LISTENING TO THE CITY
Before beginning this work, I wanted to understand what people in Rotterdam hoped for their future. So I asked them. I carried out a small poll, asking residents what they wanted to see more of in their city. Although everyone answered differently, the same themes appeared again and again.
Belonging . Representation . Unity . Community
People weren’t asking for perfection. They were asking for connection. Those conversations became part of this painting. While the imagery comes from my own perspective, the ideas it explores belong to many voices.
In Tomorrow’s Bloom became my interpretation of those shared hopes.
The image shows In Tomorrow’s with eight key elements marked A-E. Each annotation corresponds to a marker in the painting.
A | ROTTERDAM CENTRAAL - THE SYSTEMS WE INHERIT
The painting is set at Rotterdam Centraal, one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. A station is a place of movement. People arrive, leave, reconnect and begin again. It represents the systems we move through every day; systems that connect us, support us and shape our lives.
Like every system, they were built for a particular moment in time. Across the station, flowers begin to climb over the steel and glass, as though nature and infrastructure have quietly agreed to grow together. They ask what happens when the systems we inherit continue to evolve alongside the people they serve.
B | THE WOMAN - DETERMINATION MADE VISIBLE
At the centre of the painting stands a woman inspired by the quiet presence of Thomas J Price’s sculpture. She represents the many people who have continued to move forward despite living within systems that were not always designed with them in mind. Women. Migrants.
Communities whose contributions have shaped the cities they live in while too often remaining unseen. She doesn’t stand in protest. She doesn’t ask for permission. She simply stands. For me, she represents determination. The kind that quietly changes landscapes over time.
C | THE FLOWERs - WHAT DETERMINATION GROWS
Flowers weave throughout the painting, climbing across the station and wrapping gently around the woman. They are not decorative. They represent what happens when hope is met with action.
Flowers don’t bloom overnight. They require care, consistency and time. In the same way, stronger communities aren’t built through one decision, but through thousands of small ones made every day. The flowers remind us that the future isn’t found. It’s cultivated.
D | THE PARAKEET - BELONGING
In the distance sits a parakeet. Throughout my Between the Margins series, the parakeet has become a symbol of migration and belonging. Like many migrants, it arrived somewhere it wasn’t expected to be. Over time it adapted, became part of the landscape and found its place.
But the bird also reminds us that humans aren’t the only ones adapting to changing environments. As our cities evolve, nature evolves with them. The woman and the parakeet are connected through that shared experience of adaptation. Together they ask what it means to create spaces where both people and nature are able to thrive.
E | THE TRAIN - MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER
The train is perhaps the simplest symbol in the painting. It represents collective movement. Real change doesn’t happen because one person moves ahead. It happens when communities, institutions and individuals choose to move in the same direction. The train invites us to imagine that journey. Not as passengers waiting for change, but as participants helping to shape where we’re going.
WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
I don’t believe Utopia is unrealistic. Every system we live within today once existed only as an idea. Progress has always depended on people believing tomorrow could be better than today. When I think back to standing in front of Thomas J Price’s sculpture, I realise it wasn’t simply the artwork that moved me. It was what it represented. Proof that change is possible. Proof that stories can become part of a city’s landscape. Proof that what once felt unimaginable can become ordinary.
Someone imagined public parks.
Someone imagined universal education.
Someone imagined equal rights.In Tomorrow’s Bloom is an ode to that belief. To the determination that carries people through places they were never expected to belong. To the hope that our systems can grow alongside the diversity, resilience and humanity that already exists within them. Because the future isn’t something we wait for. It’s something we grow.
One decision at a time.
On view at
CBK Zuidoost
Jul 4th - Aug 20th
The original artwork is available. If this work resonates with you for your collection, your organisation, or your space, I’m happy to hear from you.
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