This work was created for I was born to do great things, Mickalene Thomas’ first solo exhibition with Kavi Gupta gallery in Chicago in 2014. The exhibition celebrated Thomas’ relationship with her recently deceased mother, and explored the inspiration that she had on Thomas’ art. Known for her portraits of Black women, which typically include references to fashion, jewelry and craft, Thomas centered these normally supporting elements, creating art objects out of her mother’s possessions. The exhibition space was filled with a haunting mixture of actual personal possessions and cast bronze replicas, such as earrings, domestic items, and clothing. The bronze casting process had the effect of destroying the original object, and simultaneously creating a version of it that could live forever, evoking the dichotomies between creation and destruction, and inspiration and legacy.