Ethiopian-American interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia opens her solo exhibition “Syntropy” at Praise Shadows Art Gallery, blending research, activism, and personal legacy through mixed-media collages, sculptures, printmaking, and textiles. On view through December 20, 2025, the show marks the gallery’s final exhibition in its Brookline space before relocating to downtown Boston in spring 2026.
A standout piece, the self-portrait “Enthroned (I am an institution; I am an altar; I am an artwork in/of/for progress),” depicts Helina atop a golden throne adorned with activist images, family photos, and African Liberation Day newspapers. This hand-cut collage—her first self-portrait in years—symbolizes strength drawn from ancestral and revolutionary figures. “It was eye-opening to be gazed upon,” Helina reflected, appreciating collaborators’ roles.
Helina, who graduated from Tufts University’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts and now teaches art and social practice at Brown University, roots her work in the seven-year “By Way of Revolution” project. It explores civil rights histories’ influence on modern justice movements, incorporating digitized revolutionary archives and family photos. Performance workshops for women and femme-identifying people of color foster solidarity, meditation, and movement, yielding portraits of participants who often return for ongoing collaborations.
Inspired by her late mother’s Ethiopian women’s rights activism, Helina shifted from painting to relational, impactful art that adds to overlooked archives. Sculptures evoke Ethiopia’s anti-colonial struggles—a brass crown, throne, and her grandmother’s dresser—prompting reflections on archiving lives. Gallery founder Yng-Ru Chen praises Helina’s community-building: “She brings voices visually into beautiful portraits.”
“Syntropy,” meaning the opposite of entropy, celebrates natural organization in activism and biology, countering oppressive chaos. The November 21 opening featured a sold-out artist talk with curator Jasmine Wahi and a documentary preview on Helina’s New York and California work. Her prior Praise Shadows show “All Put Together” (2022) and Museum of Fine Arts Boston’s “Generations” built on a Tufts Traveling Fellowship, selected by curator Michelle Millar Fisher for Helina’s archival depth tied to her activist parents.
