Under a full moon 
Digital artworks on giclée print, 59.4 x 42cm, 2026
 
Artwork Statement
Under a full moon, a young woman gazes into a mirrored pool. A Shetani emerges, mimicking her face and body with a unnerving grin, its luminous scales shimmering in vibrant pinks and gold. Unbeknownst to her, the Shetani hides a gnarled snake-like second head, mouth unhinged, poised to devour. But the woman, too enamoured by her own reflection, does not notice the distorted mirage in the water where the Shetani's true face cannot be hidden. Spirit butterflies begin to envelop her, preparing her soul for transmutation, as baobab flowers drift by—one blooming beside her, ready to carry her to the spirit realm. The work explores cultural hybridity, liminal space, and embodied memory through Zanzibari spirit mythology (shetani). The woman's obliviousness speaks to the danger of not seeing what is right in front of you—a metaphor for diasporic disconnection.
Relation to theme: Cultural hybridity (Zanzibari spirituality + contemporary Australian context), liminal space (water's surface as threshold between worlds), embodied memory (the body as site of spiritual encounter), everyday ritual of adaptation (or the failure to adapt/to see)"
 
Artist Bio
Rukaya Salum Ali-Springle is a Zanzibari-Australian multidisciplinary artist and intersectional feminist based in Naarm (Melbourne). Her research-led practice, working at the intersection of digital media and critical theory, investigates diasporic memory, glitch as decolonial resistance, and the somatic retention of colonial violence through a dreamlike, Afrofuturist lens. Her work explores trauma, mental health, spirituality, and the narratives of marginalised BIPOC communities, while powerfully centring Black joy and resilience.