Malaika Ross (she/her) is a Caribbean American visual artist whose work explores the relationships between the natural world, the body and transformation. Drawing from her background in soil microbiology and her lifelong relationship with plants, she combines scientific observation, botanical imagery, painting and storytelling to explore what happens beneath the surface and how unseen systems shape visible life.

Raised on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Malaika grew up learning about plant-based healing from the women in her family. That inherited knowledge continues to inform her practice alongside her scientific study of soil and microbial life. Her work bridges science and lived experience, moving between the intimate scale of botanical observation and larger questions of growth, interdependence, healing and belonging.

Malaika's work has been exhibited at the UMass Amherst Science and Engineering Library, Hera Gallery and Art For The Soul Gallery. Her projects include The Soil Beneath Us, Novel Bodies, Novel Landscapes and The Visibility Project. She is also the creator of Small Joys, an ongoing botanical observation practice that invites closer attention to the natural world.

A breast cancer survivor, Malaika also creates work centered on visibility, reflection and care for black women navigating cancer. Across her practice, she is interested in how art can create space for connection and healing while deepening our attention to the living world around us.