In N’Ko, a Mande language of West Africa, Hââbré means “writing,” but also stands for the practice of scarification that is common in West Africa. Followers of the custom place superficial incisions on their skin, using stones, glass, or knives, amounting to permanent body decoration that communicates a myriad of cultural expressions. See Me See We is a series of contemporary sculptural portraits of Nyugen Smith’s African ancestors represented through brass busts in the artist’s image and likeness, informed by Smith’s research on facial scarification, hairstyles, and body adornment traced back to their ethnic groups of origin dating back more than 500 years. Smith will employ modern technologies of 3D printing, DNA testing, and the ancient African technology of brass casting to create these works. The hairstyles—often a signifier of one’s ethnic group, class, and societal role—will be created using Smith’s own hair combined with other materials. Each bust will rest on handmade wooden pedestals, inspired by sacred ritual objects. The series of works will address how African spiritual practices and outward representations and expressions of African identity have been affected by colonialism.