By Sachi Rome and Tokie Rome-Taylor  

West Gallery  

October 2, 2025 – January 24, 2026 

Interwoven Narratives: Caul and Response is a collaborative exploration by twin sisters Sachi Rome and Tokie Rome-Taylor. Blending photographic realism and abstract expressionism, the exhibition draws on southern folklore of the caul and W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of double consciousness as entry points into their work. 

The caul, a folkloric veil said to protect and connect one to the spiritual realm, becomes a metaphor for identity—both shielding and revealing. Intertwined with Du Bois’s notion of double consciousness, it reflects the liminal space Black Americans navigate: seeing themselves through their own eyes while also through the gaze of others. 

Through this lens, the artists invite viewers to consider the tensions between inner identity and societal expectations. The caul, as folklore suggests, binds narratives across realms, offering insight and protection while symbolizing the unseen forces that shape lives. Interwoven Narratives: Caul and Response calls us to reflect on these shared cultural spaces and the layered, ongoing story of the African American experience. 

Artist Biographies 

Photographer and Georgia native Tokie Rome-Taylor focuses on the notion that perception of self and belonging begins in childhood. Children are the subjects she centers within her works, with a focus on representing a visual elevation that had been omitted from mainstream "Western art history." Her works have a painterly aesthetic, using both digital and analog image-making techniques. She often incorporates multiple mediums, including embroidery, pigments, beading, and wax. The resulting works challenge the viewer's expectation of what a photograph should look like. 

Rome-Taylor’s work is held in multiple private and institutional collections, including the MOCA GA, the Fralin Museum at UVA, and the Southeastern Museum of Photography. She has an extensive national and international exhibition record including the Atlanta Contemporary, Lyndon House Arts Center, the Fralin Museum, the Southeastern Museum of Photography, the Griffin Museum of Photography, SP-Foto SP-Arte Fair in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Zuckerman Museum of Art, amongst others. Rome-Taylor is a native of Atlanta, a 20+ year veteran educator, and a working artist. 

Atlanta native and multidisciplinary artist Sachi Rome studied under critically acclaimed African American artist Louis Delsarte. His influence is reflected in vibrant, richly textured figurative abstractions. Rome’s primary medium is acrylic and handmade paints, diamond dust, and Georgia red clay. She activates the alchemy of these materials to create what she describes as “safe sacred space, conversations with the spiritual realm, and generational hereditary memory.” She is heavily influenced by the work of Maya Angelou and Robert Farris Thompson’s Flash of the Spirit. 

Rome's exhibition record includes the University of Southern Mississippi Museum, Lyndon House Arts Center, Hammonds House Museum, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw University, amongst others. Rome is a 2020-2022 TCP resident, Hambidge residency recipient, and Nexus Fund awardee. Her artwork and poetry are included in the book Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021. Co-edited by Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe, it explores the art of over 70 nationally known African American artists. Her work is among public and private collections throughout the United States.