In A Black footprint is a beautiful thing Alberta Whittle critically engages with the legacy of colonialism through a nuanced exploration of the shipworm. Whittle casts this seemingly insignificant marine organism as a subversive figure in history, conceptualizing it as a decolonial agent that inadvertently thwarted the progress of European imperialism by consuming the wooden structures of ships deployed in the colonization of the Caribbean. This thoughtful exploration, deeply rooted in the artist’s personal familial connection to the Caribbean, seeks to understand the potential sensuality and pleasure derived by the shipworm in its destructive actions. The project extols these small creatures, emphasising their unanticipated role as agents of anti-colonial resistance, ultimately emerging as potent symbols of grassroots power and resistance in the historical narrative. The film features a reading of a poetic text about love, memory, and power from below.