Jafa draws from a varied pool of cultural artifacts and media, among them, images of musicians like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Lateria Wooten, video documentation of police violence against Black Americans, user-generated videos posted on social media sites, and more. Throughout his practice, the artist highlights the violence that has conditioned Black life since the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, alongside the perseverance and creative energy of Black communities that have survived in the face of such violence. “Everybody has their foot around our neck but we constantly stand,” says Jafa. “Given we come through it and it generates this thing called Blackness, Black music, Black dance, Black life force, how do we mine that?” In his film Love is the Message, The Message is Death (2016), Jafa rapidly sequences found and original footage of Black life set to Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam.” In this film, the artist moves between videos of Black children being arrested, Black athlete Derek Redmond injuring himself at the Olympics, a setting sun, and Nina Simone, all in the span of 15 seconds. In akingdoncomethas (2018), Jafa takes a more drawn-out approach, editing together long video excerpts documenting Black congregations, preachers, and musicians, which are briefly interrupted by videos of raging wildfires. 

Jafa’s exploration of Blackness and its complexities extends to his work in sculpture, painting, photography, and installation. In many of these works, like Mickey Mouse was a Scorpio (2016–2018) or AFRO SAXON (2024), the artist brings multiple images into conversation, some of which inarguably depict Black subjects, such as Miles Davis or Robert Johnson, and others that reflect Black aesthetics or approaches in less obvious ways, like Mickey Mouse or a member of the Norwegian death metal band Abbath. “That’s a fundamental thing I’m interested in,” says Jafa. “That sort of very specific and local ‘Big Bang’ that happens when you put one Black being next to another Black being.” In his “Picture Units,” maze-like architectural constructions through which viewers walk, Jafa reproduces and arranges images from crime scenes, strip clubs, New York City subways, and more, offering viewers a “guided tour” that provides insights into Blackness and contemporary culture.  Through these juxtapositions, the artist creates pathways to understanding Blackness as a way of approaching the world, an aesthetic sense, and a mode of cultural production.